


Love Through the Looking Glass

by Fanfic_Soup



Category: Alice In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll, Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anime Is Real, Death, F/M, Humor, Reader-Insert, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2018-05-21 23:48:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 38,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6062689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fanfic_Soup/pseuds/Fanfic_Soup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You know how they say every great story comes from a humble beginning?<br/>Well, mine started when I accidentally witnessed a murder."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. ♦1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> This series is the same as "Love Through the Looking Glass (Male Pronoun Ver.)", but featuring a female reader.  
> Although there are a few adjusted characters/situations, this story features the exact same situations as the male version, and will reach the same conclusion, so just read whichever you prefer~  
> Both this story and the male version will be updated at the same time.  
> Addendum (Aug 8/16): This story will be undergoing a major makeover over the next little while; rest assured, I am still writing it. I was just a little unsatisfied with the setup.

You laid down on the floor of your friend Amy's room, lazily flipping through one of her many fashion magazines while she braided your other friend, Laura's, hair. The three of you had been the best of friends ever since you could remember. Amy was a feminine brown-haired, brown-eyed girl who would defend you and Laura to the end, and Laura was a pretty girl with pale blonde hair and misty blue eyes, but was quiet as a mouse and shy. As for you, well... you were the h/c haired, e/c eyed slight weirdo of the trio. You read a lot of manga, watched anime, and frankly had penned a few fanfics in your time; of course, that was a secret only your little group knew. To everyone else, you were just a perpetually bored teen with decent grades.  
  
Every once in a while you, Laura and Amy would get together at one of your houses for a sleepover, and this week it was Amy's turn.  
  
"Hey, hey! I have an idea!" Amy suddenly exclaimed, clipping a blue bow in Laura's hair.  
  
"That's new." You commented, snickering.  
  
Laura laughed softly and turned to the pouting Amy. "What's your idea?"  
  
"We should play 'Truth or Dare'!" She replied.  
  
"Pfft! That's such a kid's game, Amy." You rolled onto your back, giving her a plain look.  
  
She rolled her eyes at you. "And reading comic books-"  
  
"MANGA." You interrupted.  
  
"-isn't?" She continued. "You're probably just chicken."  
  
"That's mature." You replied.  
  
"I'll play." Laura sat on the floor next to you, playing with her new braid.  
  
"..." You looked from the pleasantly smiling Laura to the smug Amy and sighed. "Fine."  
  
"Good! And since you put up such a fight, you go first!" Amy announced, plopping onto the floor as well.  
  
"Dare." You said without a moments thought, not even giving Amy a chance to ask which option you wanted. You were no chicken.  
  
"Then I dare you to..." She playfully tapped her chin in thought, then snapped her fingers. "I dare you to go in that empty house across the street."  
  
"... Okay." You tugged on a pair of slippers, standing. "But if I die, I blame you!"  
  
"M-maybe you shouldn't go..." Laura gently protested.  
  
"I'll be fine." You grinned. "If anything goes wrong, I'll scream! Buh-bye!" You took off through Amy's house before either girl could protest. Unbeknownst to them, you lived next door to the blind, elderly lady who owned that empty house; Although the old tenants had moved out quite a while ago, you had it on good authority that her grandson was constantly checking on the house so that no 'undesirables' had broken in and taken up residence.  
  
As you closed the front door to Amy's house, the porch light flicked on and you could see the various bugs flitting through the cool night air. You looked back at the window and saw Amy and Laura watching you. Giving them a quick wave, you hurried across the street.  
  
The house was completely dark and silent as you snuck into the backyard. As you felt around under the doormat for the extra key your neighbor had mentioned in her rambling, you hoped none of the neighbors noticed you skulking around and called the police. Feeling a small bit of cool metal, you pulled the key out and carefully unlocked the back door, creeping into the house. You got partway through the door when you heard people speaking and froze. You weren't stupid; you knew people in an empty house meant trouble. You turned quickly to run out of the house, but your foot accidentally hit the screen door, making it clatter noisily.  
  
After that, it all happened so quickly. You heard heavy footsteps, and as you began to break into a full run, you were grabbed from behind and a large hand covered your mouth. You kicked and screamed, biting down on the hand and struggling as much as you could. You were dragged to what looked like it could have been the master bedroom where a man in a suit helped your captor, another man in a similar suit, tie you up. You were unceremoniously tossed into a closet, and the door was locked. You chewed on the gag in your mouth nervously and could feel tears stinging your eyes; how the hell had this happened? It was a stupid dare, and now those men were probably going to kill you, or worse... your only hope was Amy and Laura becoming worried and calling the police. Hopefully that was soon, because-  
  
A muffled popping noise broke your thoughts, and the previous quiet talking suddenly stopped. More popping noises followed, as well as various thumps, and then everything fell silent. You squirmed, shifting around until you were propped against the door, and listened.  
  
"-made a bit of a mess." A deeper, smooth voice.  
  
"Ugh... great... we're gonna have to clean this." A younger voice. "Hey, wake up."  
  
The sound of someone being smacked lightly followed. "Nnn... I wasn't..." A tired voice responded.  
  
You heard a phone faintly ringing when you strained your ears, and then the younger voice began talking again. "Hey. Yeah, it's the Hare. I have some work on 59th Street for you. What? No, you ass! I..."  
  
The deeper voice sounded closer, and you focused on it instead. "Well now, what's this? A bite mark on his hand. Fresh, too... Dory, is there someone here?"  
  
You froze. There was silence for a moment, then the tired voice spoke. "Yeah... in the... closet."  
  
Footsteps approached, and before you could pull away the door flew open, and you tumbled out of the closet and onto the floor.  
  
"Well, this is interesting."  
  
You looked up and made eye contact with the corpse of the man who captured you. His face was trapped in a shocked expression, and there was a bullet hole neatly in the middle of his forehead. You choked on your scream, and a black-gloved hand gently covered your eyes.  
  
"Now then, that's not something to concern yourself with." The deeper voice spoke.  
  
"Goddamn it, of all the shitty luck." The younger voice spoke. "Can you hang on a minute?"  
  
"...what're we gonna do?" The tired voice questioned, sounding closer.  
  
"Let me think." The younger voice responded, sounding frustrated.  
  
"...We should let her go." The deeper voice spoke from in front of you.  
  
"Tch, we can't do that." You could hear the owner of the younger voice shuffle.  
  
"We let that other girl go." The deeper voice replied contemplatively.  
  
"But... we definitely had to... kill her in the end..." You heard the click of a gun and panicked, squirming desperately and whimpering. Your saviors had so quickly become your murderers... then again, life wasn't like some anime-  
  
"No." The deeper voice sounded irritated. The hand was removed from your eyes, and you could see once again. You noticed all the corpses had been piled into a corner, but quickly looked away from the pile to what was more important at the moment; the three boys.  
  
And it was then you realized that sometimes your life was like an anime.  
  
Three boys in their late teens stood in front of you, having a slightly heated argument about your fate. Defending your life was the one with the deeper voice, who appeared around eighteen years old; he had black hair that was layered in the back and bright green eyes. Dressed sort of oddly, he wore dress pants, a crisp white dress shirt with a plain black vest, and a black fedora decorated with fake roses in blue and white and a single playing card, spades.  
  
Arguing the apparent merits of killing you was the owner of the younger voice, a boy who looked to be around your age, sixteen. He was shorter than the black-haired boy, with slightly messy brown hair with hints of orange and hazel eyes. His attire was really what caught your attention, though; he wore a pair of shorts and a large, dull orange colored hoodie with rabbit ears on the hood. It was currently up, and the ears flopped over in a manner you would have called cute had he not been so eager to kill you.  
  
Interjecting with the occasional remark was the third boy, the one with the tired voice. He looked neatly between the ages of the other two, with a head of blonde hair that curled out at the ends and grey eyes that were half-closed, as though he would fall asleep at any moment. He sat on the floor, and wore a boring pale green t-shirt, but a unique pair of worn blue jeans with various patches that seemed to be made from pajama pants.  
  
You were broken out of your reverie by sudden annoyed muttering from Rabbit-hoodie's phone, and he scowled, bringing it back to his ear. "No, I am **not** too busy!"  
  
"Well, Henry?" The black-haired guy pressed Rabbit-hoodie, or 'Henry' as he had called him.  
  
Henry covered the mouthpiece of the phone. "I-" The person on the other end spoke, and Henry sighed in exasperation. "Whatever! But if she says anything..." He cut himself off and began talking quietly on the phone again, turning away from you.  
"Then that's that." The black-haired boy turned to you and knelt in front of you, untying the gag. Before you could shout or scream, he placed a finger on your mouth, the action somehow being enough to halt you. "If you do that, we'll have to kill you right now. That would be unpleasant for both of us."  
  
"...O...Okay..." You stammered hoarsely, and he smiled.  
  
"My name is Matt." He untied you carefully, seeming awfully cheerful for someone who just killed people.  
  
"...Shouldn't you... not have told her that?" The tired blonde muttered. He watched the black-haired guy, Matt, untie you, not moving to help.  
  
"Are you hurt?" Matt checked the rope marks on your wrists, plainly ignoring the tired boy. You shook your head, rubbing one of your wrists.  
  
"No, I think I'm okay. I-I'm F/n."  
  
"...shouldn't you not... have told **him** that?" The blonde muttered again.  
  
Oh crap. You really **shouldn't** have told them. You jumped to your feet a little awkwardly and backed away from the three boys, towards the bedroom door. "So, ummm... I can just go, right? You won't kill me or... anything?"  
  
Matt didn't make any motion to follow you, still smiling cheerily. "Not unless you talk about this. Or us."  
  
"Ah! I-I won't! Definitely not!" You stood in the doorway, and none of them made any move to follow you. "Okay, well... bye!"  
  
You bolted through the door and out of the house, never feeling so relieved to feel the air rushing by you as you ran back to Amy's.  
  
She and Laura stood at the door with a phone, and Laura quickly embraced you. "Oh my god, what happened to you?!? We were just going to call the police!!" Amy set the phone down, worry in her voice.  
  
"I'm so glad you're okay, F/n!!" Laura was sniffling, hugging you close.  
  
"You won't believe it, I..." Henry's voice suddenly echoed in your head.  
  
_"If she says anything..."_  
  
You quickly changed your story. "I got inside the house, and the latch for the door broke! I had to mess with it for a while, but I got it open." After all, those guys knew your name.  
  
"...You're right. I don't believe it." Amy frowned.  
  
Laura released you, wiping her teary eyes. "... I don't really want to play any more games. Can we go to bed?"  
  
"Yeah." Amy sighed. "We've got to go to school tomorrow, anyways. Are you sure you're okay, F/n?" She asked concernedly.  
  
"I'm good. I was a little worried, but I'm fine now. Promise." You replied.  
  
~  
  
You laid in your sleeping bag, staring up at the ceiling of Amy's room in the dark. You had almost died tonight, not once, but twice, and you couldn't tell anyone. Not only that, but the ones who saved you and threatened you at the same time were all boys around your age, and attractive in their own ways.  
  
But this was just a one-off thing, anyways. You closed your eyes, drifting off to sleep.  
  
You would never meet them again, and as long as you never thought of it again, you would live a peaceful life.  
  
After all, life was never so remarkable for you.


	2. ♦2

Then again, it wasn’t new for you to be wrong.  
  
The day had started perfectly normally; you got dressed for school at Amy’s house, and caught the bus with Amy and Laura. The three of you chatted for a while by your lockers until the school bell was about to ring, and went to your respective classrooms.  
  
Normal. Boring.  
  
You plopped down into your seat and piled your math books and binder on the table, listening half-heartedly to other students chatter. For some reason they all seemed more abuzz than usual, and you picked up bits and pieces from the various conversations:  
  
“-did you see-“  
  
“Really?!?”  
  
“I heard he-“  
  
You turned to the classmate in the row across from you, about to ask what everyone was talking about, when the teacher entered the room and everyone fell silent and took a seat.  
  
“All right, class. Before we begin today’s lesson I’d like to introduce you to our new student.” He motioned to the door and a boy around your age walked in... Henry. You felt your heart leap into your throat. He was dressed differently, but there was no mistaking him.  
  
“I’m Henry Merch.” He coolly introduced. “Can I sit down now?”  
  
You made a choking noise, and you were sure your eyes must have been the size of dinner plates. Everyone in the classroom except Henry gave you an odd look, but your teacher quickly recollected himself.  
  
“Of course, Henry. Any empty seat will do.”  
  
Henry walked casually to an empty seat by the window, not even sparing you a glance. You frowned a little to yourself; maybe he had forgotten what you looked like? If so, maybe if you stopped acting so shocked to see him, he wouldn’t think it was suspicious, and wouldn’t...  
  
Henry had turned his head and gave you a seething glare before turning back to the notes he was writing. So much for that theory. You quickly preoccupied yourself by beginning to take notes, but you couldn’t help but get more nervous as the class dragged on. Why had he suddenly shown up at your school? It was too big a coincidence that he would enroll at your school the day after you saw him kill those men.  
  
You spent the rest of your class half paying attention to your teacher and your notes, and half being distracted by thoughts of last night. By the time the bell rang, you had decided to make a run for your locker and cell phone, and call the police. You made it there without a hitch, dodging students in the hall in an attempt to lose Henry, if he was following you. You hastily spun in your lock combination, fumbling a few times, and relief flooded you when it popped open. You grabbed the edge and began pulling it open when a hand came from over your shoulder, making it slam closed again.  
  
_Crap._  
  
You didn’t want to turn around. You knew who would be standing behind you.  
  
“I know what you’re thinking. No chance.” Henry spoke from behind you. When you let your hand fall from the locker door, he removed his as well, stepping back.  
  
“So... what are you doing here? I didn’t tell anyone anything.” You turned, staring at your feet.  
  
“... It wasn’t my idea.” He muttered.  
  
You frowned, looking up at him. “Then whose idea was it?”  
  
“That’s not important. What’s important is that I’ll be watching you.” He folded his arms and glared at you.  
  
“Oops! We interrupting something important?” Amy spoke, and you noticed she and Laura were standing nearby.  
  
“No.” Henry turned and walked away, and you glared daggers at his back. All you wanted was to put this whole murder business behind you, and now you were going to be reminded of it every day at school.  
  
“So, what’s that all about?” Amy smiled at you and waggled her eyebrows.  
  
“I-” You began to speak, but the late bell cut you off. “Oh! Late for Biology! Bye!” You swiped your Biology books, closed your locker, and hurried off. Even though you were late for class, at least you didn’t need to think of an excuse for why Henry was bothering you.  
  
~  
  
The bell rang for lunch period and you hesitated to leave your classroom; if you went to the lunchroom, there was a good chance you would see Henry, and the thought left a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach.  
  
As you reluctantly shuffled through the halls, you met up with Laura halfway to the lunchroom.  
  
“We were wondering where you were.” She explained, giving you an apologetic smile.  
  
“Sorry.” You smiled back. “It’s just...”  
  
“... Are you worried about that new boy?” She spoke softly so no passing students would overhear.  
  
“Well..” You hated lying to Laura and Amy, but you couldn’t really tell the truth.  
  
“You don’t need to be worried, you know. He was sitting with the other new students, they must know each other.”  
  
“What?!?” ‘other new students’ _... it couldn’t be!_ “What are their names?!?”  
  
“Huh? Umm, I’m not sure... I know they’re in the same grade as us, though-“  
  
You cut Laura’s sentence short by grabbing her arm and rushing to the lunchroom as quickly as you could. “It can’t be...” You muttered to yourself. After expertly weaving through groups of students, you arrived at the crowded cafeteria.  
  
“Oh no...”  
  
There, just as Laura had said, were the three boys you had never wanted to see again. They sat at one of the tables near a window, Matt and the blonde boy with their backs facing you. Without even thinking you released Laura’s arm and marched over to their table, slamming your hands down on it. This had gone far enough! Hadn’t they thought your word was good enough last night? You just wanted to move on with your life!  
  
“Something wrong?” Matt’s voice filtered through your thoughts, and you came to the sudden realization that everyone in the cafeteria was staring at you. Aghast, your mind went blank and you said nothing, simply staring at Matt. Henry made a quiet, annoyed noise, and Matt grabbed your arm off the table, pulling you to sit next to him. “You know, it’s rude to command attention and then do nothing with it.” He mused, drinking what looked to be tea. The tension in the cafeteria disappeared soon after you sat, the normal buzz resuming. Laura shyly approached, staring at her feet.  
  
“Umm... F/n? A-are you going to... sit w-with me and Amy?” She nervously played with her hair, unable to look up at you and the boys.  
  
“Huh? Oh yeah! But first I... wanna catch up a little...” You were unsure about how convincing your excuse was, but Laura nodded and scurried off.  
  
“Catch up with what?” Henry scowled, looking down at his lunch.  
  
“I just... I don’t understand why you’re here. I didn’t tell anyone.” You spoke quietly, your hands balling into fists from nervousness.  
  
“We’re not sure, either.” Matt casually admitted. He jolted upwards when you heard a thump from under the table, and you followed his ensuing glare across to an angry Henry.  
  
“How can you not know?” You furrowed your brows, and directed your question at Matt. However, he seemed withdrawn into his own world, staring into his tea. Reluctantly you looked at Henry, waiting for an answer.  
  
“... Merch... I think she wants an answer...” The sleepy boy spoke up, and Henry rolled his eyes.  
  
“Look, can we talk about this later? You know, when there aren’t so many people around?” He spoke lowly to you, sounding completely irritated.  
  
“... Fine.” At least this would give you time to prepare to call the police as soon as possible. “Where and when?”  
  
He dug a pen out of his bag and scribbled an address down on a napkin, then slid it across the table to you. “Here.”  
  
You scanned the napkin. “... at the playground on Vine Street at eight PM? Isn’t that sort of seedy?”  
  
“Oh, sorry.” Henry rolled his eyes. “Would you feel more comfortable if we did it in an abandoned house?”  
  
You glared at Henry and stood, stuffing the napkin into your pocket. When you reached the table that Amy and Laura were sitting at, Amy stood and grabbed your arms, holding you still.  
  
“Okay, you really need to tell us what’s up with you and those new kids. And don’t you dare say ‘nothing’, ‘cause you just sat with them!”  
  
Laura nodded. “You said you wanted to ‘catch up’ with them, too. You know them?”  
  
“Well, sort of. Remember that summer me and my dad went on vacation?” Both nodded. “I met them there. Guess they moved here.” You sat down and casually ate the lunch Amy bought you.  
  
“Really?” Amy seemed thoughtful. “So... who’s the brunette?”  
  
“Henry Merch.” You couldn’t keep the frown from your face.  
  
“... Seems like there’s a lot of sparks between you two. Summer romance, maybe?” Amy hinted.  
  
“Hardly!” Henry wasn’t bad looking, but he seemed to have such a sour personality...  
  
Amy laughed. “Okay, okay. What about the black-haired guy?”  
  
“Matt... umm... I don’t know his last name.” Amy gave you a quizzical look. “What? He never told me!”  
  
“And the blonde?”  
  
“That’s...” Crap. You didn’t know the blonde’s name. What could you say? Thankfully, you didn’t need to make something up because Laura spoke up.  
  
“His name is Dorian Mause.”  
  
“Really?” Amy wrinkled her nose. “Mause?”  
  
“How do you know that?” You asked, genuinely curious.  
  
“Oh, well... we share second period Art class.” She smiled sheepishly. “Though he spent most of it sleeping, I think.”  
  
“Ooh, got a crush on him, Laura? He’s kinda cute.” Amy teased, laughing at the shocked look and Laura’s face.  
  
As the two playfully argued, your gaze drifted back to the three boys; Henry, Dorian, and Matt. You lightly touched the pocket you had slipped the napkin into and furrowed your brows.  
  
You would find out what this was all about tonight.  
  
~  
  
You stepped off the public bus and onto the dark street, pulling your jacket tight around yourself. You had given your dad the excuse that Amy had wanted to do homework together during dinner, and though he seemed almost reluctant to accept it, he had too much work still to do, and let you go.  
  
You couldn’t fault him for being busy; it had just been you and your dad since you were born, your mother having passed away after giving birth to you. Your dad was a good man, though, and he had never inadvertently placed any blame on you. He had told you all about her, how she was always kind and lady-like, and that you definitely resembled her more so than him.  
  
You hated to lie to him, but... this was a potentially dangerous situation, and the last thing you wanted was to put him in danger.  
  
You shuffled nervously down the sidewalk approaching the park. You had heard rumors that a lot of drug dealers hung out in this area after dark, and they weren’t necessarily known for being very peaceful. You felt slight relief when you saw only the three boys at the park; Matt sitting on a swing, Henry leaning on one of the swing-set poles, and Dorian lying on the nearby bench.  
  
You approached them uneasily, fingering your cell phone in your pocket. “Uh... hey.”  
  
“You came.” Matt smiled at you. “Henry was hoping you’d be too scared to.”  
  
“...Why **did** you come...?” You heard Dorian speak up from the bench.  
  
You scuffed your foot through the playground sand, looking down. “I just... I wanted all this murder business behind me. I thought you were gonna leave me alone if I didn’t talk, and I haven’t, so...” You looked up at Henry. “Why are you going to my school suddenly?”  
  
Henry seemed like he was going to say something, but faltered at your gaze, looking away. It seemed like he was struggling with something, and Matt turned to him and gave him an expectant look. “You ought to just tell her.”  
  
He made a sound in annoyance and stood up straight, giving you a firm look. “Fine. I’m not really sure why we’re here, either. There.”  
  
“...What? That doesn’t even make sense.” You frowned to yourself.  
  
“It was... Merch’s dad.” Dorian rolled over onto his stomach, looking up at you.  
  
“Shut up, Dory!” Henry’s shoe hurtled through the air, striking Dorian on top of the head. He muttered a very delayed ‘ouch’, but otherwise became quiet.  
  
“Your dad told you guys to spy on me?” You gave Henry a flat look.  
  
“Not ‘spy’! Just keep an eye on you.” Frankly, he sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than you.  
  
“But we don’t know why.” Matt added.  
  
“Oh... so, you guys aren’t here to kill me, then?”  
  
“Not right now.” Henry sighed.  
  
You sighed exasperatedly. “Well that’s... something, I guess.” You stretched and turned a little. “Well, guess I’ll be going then... nice... ‘hanging’ with you.”  
  
“Bye...bye...” Dorian yawned.  
  
“Bye!” Matt waved a little, swinging. “See you at school.”  
  
“Whatever.” Henry leaned against the swing-set again, seeming nonchalant.  
  
You took off at a brisk walk, your mind at least a little more at ease. So they were going to uphold their end of the bargain, and they wouldn’t kill you. It raised a bigger question, though; why would Henry Merch’s dad care? This whole situation was getting stranger and stranger... actually, it kind of reminded you of a manga you had read once...  
  
You sat at the bus stop and suddenly felt nervous; it had gotten very dark, and there was still a half hour until your bus would arrive. You could see a group of shady guys standing across the street, and began to wish you hadn’t bothered to meet the boys at the park at all. After all, some of these streets got really dangerous, and you were just a lone high school girl... it wouldn’t take much for some guy to sneak up behind you, wrap his grimy hands around your throat... actually, you could practically feel a hand... on your shoulder?!? You screamed and swung, your hand making contact with flesh. You spun around to get a look at your assailant, but saw only an angry Henry.  
  
“Ouch! Shit!” He held his hand against his cheek, and you belatedly realized it was **him** you had struck.  
  
“Urk! Sorry, Henry... I thought you were going to...” Well, actually, he **might** kill you someday. “...Are you okay?”  
  
“Tch, yeah. You just surprised me.” He sat down on the bench, and you sat next to him.  
  
“Mm.” You nodded. “Hey, wait... what are you doing here anyway?”  
  
Henry rolled his eyes. “Matt and Dory wouldn’t shut up about ‘leaving a helpless woman alone in this neighborhood, but clearly you aren’t **that** helpless.” He motioned vaguely to his red cheek.  
  
“So you wanted to make sure I got home okay?”  
  
“No. Just the bus.” He folded his arms firmly.  
  
“Oh. Well... thank you, Henry.” What an odd sentiment to be coming from a murderer, but hey, it was better than sitting here alone.  
  
“Don’t call me that.” There was an oddly cold tone to his voice. “Just call me Merch.”  
  
“Umm, okay... Merch.” It felt a little odd to address him by his last name, but if that’s what he preferred... and uncomfortable silence fell over the two of you. You had a lot of questions you wanted to ask him about himself, but somehow you got the feeling it would only dig your possible grave deeper to know any more than you already did, so you held your tongue. Instead you settled on staring at Merch, since he wasn’t paying attention to you.  
  
His skin was a little on the tan side, and from this close you could see faint scars on his exposed arms, probably from a lot of... well, whatever the hell he was doing in that house last night. The orange tinted streetlight gave his hazel eyes a bit of a brown sheen, and-  
  
“What are you staring at? You’re creeping me out.”  
  
-and he opens his mouth and the illusion is ruined. You sighed to yourself and slumped into the bench. “Nothing. Just wondering where Dory and Matt went.”  
  
“Home, probably.” He answered in a surprisingly casual manner.  
  
“You guys live here?” You sat up a little, interested.  
  
“For now. Don’t get used to it.” He seemed almost... sulky?  
  
“I don’t think I could if I wanted to.” You muttered, looking up to see the bus arrive.  
  
“Heh.” You looked back in shock at Merch’s soft laugh, and became more shocked when you caught the half-smile on his face. He stood from the bench and walked away as though he had never met you, hands stuffed in his pockets. When the bus driver cleared her throat, you suddenly felt quite silly standing there, and hopped on the bus.  
  
~  
  
While most kids in your age group considered sneaking into their house after a late night an art, you honestly found it was no problem, probably because your dad was always fast asleep this time of night. All it took was carefully unlocking the door and walking quietly, and suddenly you’d never even left the house.  
  
You changed into your pajamas as stealthily as possible, and collapsed onto your bed. Two nights in a row you’d gone out and done troubling things. At this rate you were going to become way too mixed up in this mess. Then when would you have time to watch new anime?  
  
_Well..._ you huffed, rolling onto your side. _At least they’re easy on the eyes._


	3. ♦3

By some miracle you had managed to drag yourself out of bed in the morning, grab the lunch your dad had made you, and semi-automatically get to the bus. Amy had, of course, laughed at you when you got off at school; apparently your "slightly" disheveled appearance and zombie-like mannerisms had scared a few other students. Laura had quickly taken to helping you fix your hair while you embarrassedly adjusted your clothes until you looked more normal.  
  
"Late night last night?" Amy offhandedly asked as the three of you walked into the school building.  
  
"Yeah." You sighed unhappily.  
  
"I see." Amy went silent for a few moments. You paused at a water fountain to get a drink, and she casually leaned on the wall next to you. "So which guy were you with?" She smiled slyly.  
  
You choked on the water you were drinking, and Laura quietly scolded Amy. "W-what?!? Why would you think that?!?"  
  
Amy laughed, patting you on the back. "I was just joking. I know you wouldn't date a guy without telling us."  
  
"They seem nice enough, anyways." Laura pointed out. If only she knew.  
  
"Whoops, speak of the devils..." The boys were standing in the hallway ahead of you, clearly talking about something unimportant. "Why don't you introduce us!" Amy grabbed your arm before you could protest and pulled you towards them.  
  
Despite your attempts to dig your heels into the floor, linoleum wasn't known for being a very unyielding material, and by the time Amy had arrived with you, the three boys had clearly noticed you being dragged, especially if the annoyed look Merch was giving you was any indication.  
  
A little unceremoniously, Amy pulled you to a stop, then smiled pleasantly. "Well? Don't be rude, F/n!"  
  
You gave her a withering look, then stared petulantly at your feet. "Amy, Laura, this is Merch, Dorian, and Matt. And vice versa."  
  
"Vice versa indeed! It's nice to meet you." Matt was first to respond, shaking Amy and Laura's hands. Dorian, it seemed, had elected to doze off leaned against the lockers, and if looks could kill you were sure Merch would have murdered you by now.  
  
"Yeah! F/n has told us so much about you guys!" Amy smiled in a coy manner. You shot her a look; not that she could have possibly known it was a bad thing to say, but-  
  
"Oh, did she now?" You could hear the irritation dripping from Merch's voice, and quickly shot to defend yourself.  
  
"No! I didn't!" Seeing the reaction between you and Merch, Amy quickly recanted her statement.  
  
"Really, she hasn't said a thing about any of you! It was kind of annoying, frankly."  
  
Merch suddenly seemed to not care any more, and you coughed awkwardly. "Uh, so..."  
  
"We should all hang out sometime!" Amy piped up, seeming very pleased with her idea. Before either you or Merch could object, Matt's expression brightened and he agreed, leaving you to shoot a look at Amy. Before anyone could say anything else, the warning bell rang for the morning classes.  
  
"Oops! Guess we should get to our classes, huh? See you guys later!" Amy grabbed Laura's hand, pulling her off to their morning Math class and leaving you, once again, alone with the boys. Thankfully, Dorian seemed to take page from Amy's book.  
  
"Come on Matt... we should... go, too." He turned and walked down the hallway. Matt watched him for a moment, then flashed you and Merch a smile.  
  
"Coming!" He turned and followed after Dorian.  
  
Unfortunately, this left you and Merch alone. Not only that, but you had to walk to the same class. Merch turned and began walking without saying anything, and you followed unsurely after him. Despite everything he'd put you through in the last few days, you kind of felt... bad for him? Sure, he was sort of stalking you, but at least he was in the same kind of situation; it wasn't like **he** wanted to be keeping an eye on you, either.  
  
That in mind, you spoke up. "Hey, Merch..."  
  
"What." He clearly sounded unimpressed and tired, glancing back at you.  
  
"Look, I wanted to, y'know... say sorry." You stared at the lockers that you walked past. Wow, they sure were interesting.  
  
"Sorry?" He sounded confused, and slowed down his pace, letting you catch up with him. "Why?"  
  
"What do you mean, why? Aren't I the whole reason you're stuck here?" You looked at him, just as confused as he seemed to be.  
  
"Tch, I doubt that." He muttered. Although you waited for him to continue, he said nothing.  
  
"So... uh... sorry?" You tried again, unsure where to go with the conversation.  
  
"Don't bother." He waved it off, shaking his head. "You shouldn't apologize for things you can't control."  
  
You went quiet, staring at your feet at a loss. It was... a pretty nice thing to say. He stopped walking, and you glanced up in time to see he'd opened the door to your classroom for you, and was waiting for you to enter. Without even looking up at him, you embarrassedly scurried in and took your seat.  
  
_Merch seems... different than I thought..._  
  
~  
  
Today's lunch period was a little special; People were signing up for next year's extracurriculars right now, which meant that Laura and Amy wouldn't be eating lunch with you. Instead, you sat alone at a table in the unusually empty cafeteria, poking some pasta with your fork. While you weren't the kind to not eat at lunch, you couldn't help but notice that Merch, Matt and Dorian weren't in the lunch room, either. _Are they signing up for something? Does that mean they'll still be here for next year's classes?_ The thought bothered you, but strangely, not as much as it would have the other day.  
  
You were so deep in thought that you hadn't noticed someone sat directly across from you, until they spoke.  
  
"That's an interesting way to eat."  
  
You jumped, your (e/c) eyes widening as they connected with vibrant green ones. "M-Matt! You scared me!"  
  
"Do I?" He had a smile on his face despite assuming you'd called him scary.  
  
"No, not you, specifically. Just what you did there." You sighed, grabbing the fork you'd dropped and setting it back on your tray.  
  
"You really shouldn't differentiate people and what they do." He swirled his cup of what you decided was, once again, tea. "It's a fascinatingly good way to die."  
  
You stared at him blankly, trying to decipher what he meant by that. Before you could draw any connections from his statement, he spoke again.  
  
"You seem awfully lonely. Aren't you usually with other people?"  
  
"Oh, Laura and Amy?" You asked, and he nodded. "They're signing up for extracurriculars right now."  
  
"...That's what Henry and Dory said they were doing, too. Well, Dory said it, at least." He chuckled softly to himself.  
  
"What about you?" You smiled at him. "You seem like the type of guy who'd join a Club." He was friendly, even if a little odd at times.  
  
"I could ask you the same thing." He replied. "But I'm not a fan of organized work."  
  
"Ah, I think it's supposed to be fun..." You laughed sheepishly.  
  
"Fun? Really?" Matt seemed legitimately surprised, and you couldn't help but laugh a little more at his expression. "If you need to sign something in order to do it, it isn't normally fun."  
  
"I guess not. I've never been much for Club activities, either." None of them had really interested you, and so you just stayed out of it.  
  
"Well, either way, at least we can eat lunch together today..." He eyed your tray with a playful smirk. "... Or, poke our lunches, if you'd prefer."  
  
You laughed softly. "Eating's fine.... Thanks, Matt."  
  
~  
  
School had passed by otherwise uneventfully, and before you knew it you had said your goodbyes to Laura and Amy, and after a short bus ride, were walking home. You sighed to yourself, staring up at the blue sky. Summer break would be here soon, but this year would be a little different from every other; This year, your Dad had to stay and work. Normally, the two of you would have gone on a little vacation. They weren't anything special, just the two of you going somewhere within the country, and doing relatively boring activities, but just being able to spend time with him was more than enough for you. You loved your Dad to bits, even though he overworked himself.  
  
You sighed again, heavier this time, and wondered if he would be home when you got back today. When you looked back at the sidewalk in front of you, you noticed a familiar-looking head of blonde hair.  
  
"....Dorian?" You called out, and the boy in front of you stopped, turning to look at you. Seeing that it was, indeed, Dorian, you picked up your pace, catching up to where he stood. "Hey! What are you doing out here?"  
  
"I was going to... my Grandma's." He replied as soon as you were within earshot.  
  
"Oh, she lives this way?" You glanced down the street. "I'm headed that way, too." You gave him a friendly smile, and he returned it, albeit more tiredly than yours.  
  
"I see." He replied. "Did you want... to walk together?"  
  
"Ah... sure. I wouldn't mind." You followed him as he turned and began walking, and soon the two of you fell into an easy pace. Out of the three boys, you somehow got the impression that Dorian was the most easygoing, despite his sleepy personality... or maybe it was because of it? Either way, you felt at ease walking with him, even though you hadn't really known him that long. "So, your Grandma lives this way? I wonder if I've ever met her."  
  
"I'm not sure. She... doesn't go very far... from her house." You noticed he was doing what you had been doing a few blocks ago; Staring up at the very blue sky.  
  
"No? Is she ill?" You asked, softer. You didn't want to seem disrespectful if she was ill.  
  
"Not... really."He replied. You glanced ahead of you, and saw you were only about five houses away from your own. "She... can't see."  
  
You froze, and Dorian paused as well, turning and giving you a confused look. "She... she can't see?" _**Your** neighbor couldn't see._  
  
Dorian shook his head slowly. "...No..."  
  
"Where... where does she live, exactly?"  
  
He tilted his head at the question, and pointed vaguely in the direction of your house.  
  
"No... no way..." It was just too odd. That neighbor, the very same neighbor who constantly talked about her grandson, had been talking about **Dorian** the whole time? And that meant...  
  
_**Dorian is the one who checked up on the empty house.**_  
  
Dots were so busy connecting themselves in your brain that you hadn't realized you'd been standing in the middle of the sidewalk like a statue, staring at Dorian. He had approached you, and after waving his hand in front of your face you came back to reality, blushing a little.  
  
"Are you... okay?" He looked concerned, and the thought made you even more embarrassed.  
  
"Y-yeah! I just... I think I live next door to your Grandma." You rubbed your arm nervously.  
  
"Oh, really...?" He, on the other hand, didn't seem at all phased. "So... you were... probably the neighbor... girl she told me about." He turned, and began walking again.  
  
"Yeah, I... wait, she told you about me?!?" You hurried to catch up with him. "W-what kind of things did she say?!?"  
  
"Hm... things like..." He paused, looking skyward again. "... she's so pretty... and, a good... housewife..."  
  
_A good housewife._  
  
Well, that was certainly mortifying. Never, in your wildest fantasies, had you ever considered that to be the thing she would say.  
  
Before you could wallow in embarrassment, you noticed Dorian was quite openly staring at you. When you looked over to make eye contact, he quickly looked away. "Anyways..." He began, pausing in front of the gate to your elderly neighbor's house. "This is where... I'm going."  
  
"R-right. Ah, thanks for walking with me, Dorian." You continued past the gate and partway up your own walkway.  
  
"... 'Dory' is fine. If... you want." He was giving you a sleepy, unreadable look, and you nodded.  
  
"Okay. Dory, then. " You smiled a little to yourself when you spoke the nickname; You felt almost like you were closer with the sleepyhead blonde. "See you tomorrow, Dory."  
  
He smiled warmly at you, nodding, and headed up the walkway and into the backyard of his Grandma's house.  
  
You entered your own house, casually letting your bag fall to the floor in a heap. Greeted by the usual sound of silence, you hummed to yourself as you decided what to make for dinner tonight.  
  
_You know, maybe those guys aren't so terrible, after all._


	4. ♦4

Despite all the odd things you'd been through in the last few days, your morning had actually been relatively normal. You'd gotten to school without any real hitches (You **did** manage to forget your bag, but thankfully you'd remembered before you'd gotten to the bus stop, and grabbed it in time), and when you arrived at school you even greeted the boys in a civil manner, getting a cheerful reply from Matt, a friendly reply from Dorian, and a nod from Merch.  
  
Then things went downhill.  
  
While you had remembered to grab your bag, as soon as you sat down in class you realized you'd left all your homework at home. When you had to explain as much to your teacher, your only real consolation was that Merch was the only one in class **not** snickering at your embarrassment.  
  
The next classes weren't any better; in gym you got hit in the head with an errant basketball, and in Art you spilled paint all over your canvas **and** the floor, leading you to spend the rest of the class cleaning the easel and art room floor.  
  
By the time lunch period rolled around all you wanted to do was sit down and enjoy a peaceful meal, but fate had other plans. Instead, Amy had insisted the three of you eat lunch with your new friends.  
  
So here you were.  
  
You were wedged between Amy and Laura, and sitting directly across from Matt. He and Amy were having an animated conversation about various teachers, and even Dorian was inputting his two cents every once in a while. Laura was mostly quiet, but seemed to be enjoying herself. As expected, Merch was completely silent, staring out the window.  
  
"What do you think, F/n?" You snapped back to reality, staring blankly at Amy with a piece of sandwich in your mouth. She elbowed Laura in an almost conspiratorial manner, giggling.  
  
You swallowed your sandwich piece. "Sorry, what?"  
  
"She wanted to know what you thought about going to the "Fair" tomorrow." Matt helpfully supplied.  
  
"The... Fair? Oh, right!" The annual 'Goodbye to School' Fair was tomorrow. "I love going to that!"  
  
"Great!" Amy clapped her hands together, standing and grabbing both you and Laura's arms. "So, we'll meet you all by the ticket booths around six?"  
  
"Alright, sounds good." Matt agreed, and you suddenly realized what had happened.  
  
Amy had hooped you into agreeing to go to the Fair with the boys.  
  
If Merch had been irritated about having to eat lunch with the three of you, you were sure it paled in comparison to how irritated he was now.  
  
You didn't dare look back to see as Amy dragged you away.  
  
~~  
  
To say you were nervous was an understatement; you practically dreaded coming to the Fair. The entire way there you'd debated turning back and texting that you were sick, but... in the end, you'd found yourself waiting by the ticket booth. Before you could chicken out again, Amy and Laura had shown up, and you knew when it came to Amy, escape was not an option.  
  
"So, are you excited, or what?" Amy seemed very happy. "I mean, have you really gotten a chance to hang out with these guys since summer?"  
  
"No, I'm... SUPER excited." You winced a little. But then again, what was the worst that could happen? Merch glaring at you all day? That was manageable, it wasn't like he didn't already do that a lot.  
  
"Actually, I'm kind of... nervous." Laura admitted, shifting shyly.  
  
"Oh? It'll be good for you!" Amy lightly tapped Laura's shoulder, and continued. "It's totally not a date or anything! Just a bunch of people getting to know each other!"  
  
When she worded it like that, it really **did** inspire confidence; you'd always admired Amy's ability to inspire people. You'd never been particularly good at it, and since it had always come so naturally to her, she just sort of fell into the role of group leader.  
  
"Hm, but I wonder what's taking them-" Amy didn't bother to finish her sentence, instead perking up and waving at someone behind you.  
  
"Hello!" You turned to see the boys had arrived, and Matt had called out to you.  
  
"Hey guys." You smiled a little, giving them a wave. It seemed they'd mixed up their wardrobes a little for the Fair; Matt was wearing a white, short-sleeved dress shirt with a loose red tie, black jeans, and a black fedora decorated with little blue and red flowers on one side. Dory had dressed a little lazily, as expected, wearing a fashionably loose and uneven dark green sweater and light blue jeans. Merch had worn a faded yellow t-shirt with some sort of orange logo on it, a gray hoodie, and some worn-out looking jeans.  
  
"Sorry we're late." Merch curtly apologized, not really sounding very apologetic.  
  
"Um, I'm sure i-it's okay!" Laura spoke up, smiling nervously.  
  
There was a sort of awkward silence after that; you guessed it was only natural, since you all barely knew each other.  
  
"So! What should we do first?" Amy clapped her hands together, getting everyone's attention.  
  
"I think I'd like to try some of the food, first." Henry was smiling pleasantly. "It already smells good!"  
  
"Okay, so then we'll-" You began, but were cut off by Dorian.  
  
"The rides look... pretty fun..." It was sort of a surprising thing to hear from him, since he'd struck you as the more laid-back type.  
  
"Hmm... well, if want to do different things, why don't we just split up, and all meet here again later?" Amy suggested.  
  
"Wait, we're just going to split up? I thought we were doing this to make friends!" After all... the thought of wandering around alone with the boys was sort of daunting.  
  
"What are you so worried about? I mean, you're already friends with all of us." Amy pointed out, eyeing you suspiciously.  
  
Crap, that's right. You'd nearly forgotten the lie you'd told Amy and Laura about you and the boys. "Well, but I mean, how will you guys-" You motioned to them all. "-get to know each other?"  
  
"Easy. We get to know whoever we're hanging out with. Now!" Amy got a steely look, one that you knew brooked no argument. "We're wasting time, here! So, F/n, what do you want to do?"  
  
"Uh... well..."  
  
**What _did_ you want to do?**

A) Go on rides. **[Advance to ♦5 The Dormouse]**  
B) Get some food. **[Advance to ♦5 The Mad Hatter]**  
C) Unsure. **[Advance to ♦5 The March Hare]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've finally reached a point in the story where you, the Reader, can make a choice!  
> Simply pick either which option you like best (or character, if you'd rather), and go to the instructed chapter!  
> Feel free to read all the "date" chapters, but bear in mind that they happen at the same time; you'll only ever have been referred to as spending time with one character.  
> On that note, **I only have specific characters in mind for "date" chapters, including some that have not yet been introduced.** If, _after_ the character has been introduced, they do not become a date option and you'd like them to be, let me know! If there's enough interest in it, I'll add them in as an option!  
>  Please enjoy!


	5. ♦5 The Dormouse

"I guess... going on the rides **does** sound like fun." After all, what was the point of a fair if there were no fun rides? Especially when they were all lit up like that...  
"Alright then! What about you, Laura?"  
  
"Umm... f-food actually doesn't sound s-so bad..." Laura smiled weakly at Matt, and seemed to relax at the calm, cheery smile he gave her.  
  
"So that leaves me and Merch!" She grabbed his arm before he could protest, and began dragging him off. "We'll all meet back here in a few hours, okay?" Have fun!" And with that, she had vanished with Merch into the crowds. (This time, you could definitely hear him protesting.)  
  
"Ahaha, poor Merch!" Matt cheerily laughed, turning to Laura. "Well, shall we?"  
  
"Oh! Y-yes!" She turned to you, smiling softly. "See you in a b-bit, F/n."  
  
And just like that, you were alone with Dorian. He was staring intently at the rides in the distance, and you awkwardly cleared your throat. "So... which ride do you want to go on first?"  
  
He turned and stared at you for a moment before speaking. "The scariest one." The absolute lack of hesitation surprised you, and when he started walking to the massive roller coaster, you had to run to catch up with him.  
  
"Seriously?!?"  
  
"Yeah... why?" He glanced over at you, but quickly averted his gaze when you almost made eye contact.  
  
"I dunno. You just sort of struck me as the laid-back type, since every time I see you you're half asleep." You pointed out. As a matter of fact, even now he looked-  
  
"If you... do the worst one first... the rest will be nothing..." As he said that, you noticed something odd about his face; he'd gotten a strange, undefinable look on it, like the statement had somehow made him feel... _hollow_ inside. But the moment you saw it, it was gone, replaced by his usual half-asleep expression. "But... it looks like... it will take a while... I might fall asleep..."  
  
You couldn't help but laugh, imagining what the on-ride photo would look like; a bunch of screaming people, and Dorian. Sleeping. He smiled, too, and you suddenly felt much more relaxed.  
  
Maybe this **would** be fun.  
  
~  
  
The on-ride photo was everything you'd dreamed it would be; not only that, but even the attendant of the ride seemed baffled by Dorian's "nerves of steel". He'd tried to explain that he was just very tired, and 'yes, the ride was scary' to the disappointed woman, and you were laughing too much to even form coherent words to try and help him.  
  
When you'd finally gotten away from the ride, the both of you were exhausted for completely different reasons.  
  
"Whew... no wonder... I don't wander around alone..." Dorian sat on a nearby bench, running a hand through his blonde hair.  
  
"Well, to your credit, you **did** handle it pretty well." You sat on the bench next to him. "My stomach hurts." You added, rubbing it gently. Too much laughing.  
  
"Haha..." You weren't sure you'd ever heard Dorian laugh. It was... nice. Soft, genuine... for some reason, it suited him. "So what ride... did you want to... go on?"  
  
"Huh? Me?"  
  
"Yeah... I mean... it's only fair."  
  
"Umm..." You surveyed the rides around you, your gaze settling on the Ferris Wheel. "How about the Ferris Wheel? I think I might get sick if we go on anything too intense right away."  
  
"Okay." He nodded, standing and offering his hand to help you up. You accepted it, and the two of you headed off the Ferris Wheel.  
  
~  
  
After a bit of a wait, the two of you had climbed into one of the Ferris Wheel cars, and got settled in on opposite sides. As it slowly began its rotation, a thought suddenly came to mind; this would be the perfect opportunity to ask Dorian a question.  
  
Your first instinct was to ask him something about his "work", or why the boys had to keep an eye on you, but... you had a feeling those would go nowhere, and make the rest of the ride a little too awkward. So instead, you decided to ask him something about himself.  
  
"Hey Dorian, could I, umm..." You fought with how to properly word the question. "Would you mind if I asked you something personal?"  
  
He stared at you a moment, then shrugged. "...sure."  
  
"So..." You steeled yourself a little, encouraged by his relaxed attitude. "Why do you speak like that?"  
  
You immediately regretted asking him as soon as you saw him stiffen and sit up properly. "I-I'm sorry, Dorian!! You don't need to answer if you don't-"  
  
"No... it's okay..." He didn't look particularly comfortable, but it seemed the initial shock had worn off. "I mean... it's very noticeable... right?"  
  
"Well, I guess I just sort of assumed it was because you were tired all the time! I mean, it's just because I spent so much time with you today... I was just wondering..." You trailed off lamely.  
  
"It's..." He seemed to be searching for words, and you waited patiently. "I... got in an... accident... when I was younger..." He was staring out the car window, expressionless.  
  
"O-Oh, I see..." You shifted nervously. So he had some sort of brain damage? "I'm... really sorry, Dorian. I shouldn't have brought it up."  
  
"...it's okay." He turned back to you, but stared at the floor, smiling a little. "It's better... you know... than wondering about it." He closed his eyes at this, relaxing.  
  
"Yeah, that's true." You laughed softly, brushing your hair aside. _Wait, he's always tired... and has brain damage..._ "D-Dory!!! Don't fall asleep!!!" You practically dove across the car at him, causing it to rock violently.  
  
"Ah!!! Wha...?!?" His eyes shot open, and he grabbed your arms to stop you from shaking him. "That's... not...! It's okay...!"  
  
"I-It is?" You calmed down. "But..." You slid over into the seat next to him.  
  
He exhaled softly. "I've always... been sleepy... even before the accident."  
  
"O-Oh..." Well, now you were definitely embarrassed. "S-sorry, Dory..."  
  
He shook his head, laughing. "It's okay... it's nice you... care so much."  
  
"Yeah, w-well..." You blushed slightly. When the ride jerked to a stop, you were a little surprised. "Woah, that went by fast!"  
  
"Yeah... so..." He stood up, exiting the cart. "Are you... ready for more rides?"  
  
You smiled happily, following suit. "You know it!"  
  
~  
  
A series of rides later, the two of you found yourselves waiting by the ticket booth for the others to arrive. Laura and Matt had returned first, Laura rather cheerfully describing the different Fair foods they'd tried to you (Honestly, after all the rides, thinking about eating made you feel a little sick), and then Amy and Merch returned, the latter looking just as irritated as he had when he'd left.  
  
"Y'know, that was pretty fun!" Amy laughed happily.  
  
"Ugh..." You could hear Merch mutter something, but couldn't quite make it out.  
  
"We should do this sort of thing again sometime!" Matt cheerfully suggested, Dorian nodding in agreement.  
  
"We should." You agreed, smiling. It had been genuinely fun, and while you didn't really learn anything about the boys' reasons for being here, at least you **did** get to know Dorian a little better.  
  
"It's getting pretty late." Merch spoke up, glancing at his phone. "We're gonna have to head out." He gave Dorian and Matt a strangely sharp look as he turned and began walking off; if they noticed, they didn't look affected, but...  
  
"Ahaha, that's true. I suppose we **do** have things to attend to." Matt raised his hat to you, Laura and Amy. "It was nice spending time with you! Have a lovely evening!"  
  
"Hey, thanks!" Amy grinned happily. "You, too!"  
  
"See ya..." Dorian gave the three of you a wave, giving you a small smile and averting his gaze when you made eye contact.  
  
And just like that, the three boys vanished into the crowd of fair-goers.  
  
You heaved out a sigh you hadn't realized you'd been holding in.  
  
"...Missing them already, huh?" Amy teased, giving you a knowing look.  
  
"What?!? No!!" You panicked, rounding on her. "I'm just exhausted!! I went on a ton of rides!"  
  
"Oh yeah... frankly, I was surprised you didn't go with Merch, since... y'know." She smiled conspiratorially at you, and you blanched.  
  
"Seriously! I told you, there's nothing going on between me and Merch!!" Sure, if she meant that mutual sense of irritation you gave each other, she was right; but you knew she was implying you had a crush on him. And you didn't.  
  
"H-hey, c-calm down!" Laura beseeched the two of you, her cheeks dusted pink with embarrassment from the looks you were drawing.  
  
"Sorry, sorry!" Amy apologized, laughing. "I was only kidding."  
  
"Ugh, I know." You sighed unhappily.  
  
"But I mean, do you really dislike him so much? He didn't seem so bad." She continued.  
  
"It's not that..." The three of you began walking to the Fairgrounds exit. "It's just... he can be so aggravating. I can't see myself with a guy like that."  
  
"You guys are pretty similar..." Laura softly noted. When your gaze shot over to her, she quickly waved both hands placatingly. "I-I mean, they d-do say that people don't generally like people too much like themselves, s-so..." She trailed off, and you pouted.  
  
"We're nothing alike." For starters, you'd never murder someone.  
  
"Well, regardless of who's like who..." Amy waited for you to dissent, and when you said nothing, she continued. "Can we all at least agree we had fun today?"  
  
"Actually, yeah." You smiled again. It had been fun. Laura nodded in agreement, too.  
  
"Great!" Amy clapped her hands together, seeming pleased. "Oh, hey, F/n, I almost forgot! My mom wanted to know if you wanted to come over for dinner! Laura's coming, too, so we could make a sleepover out of it!"  
  
"Sorry, I can't." You smiled apologetically at the two. "I promised my Dad I'd get home a little early tonight. Maybe next time?"  
  
"Yeah, no problem!" Amy didn't seem too terribly put out, but you could tell she was a little sad you couldn't come.  
  
"Oh... are you walking home alone...?" Laura shifted nervously at the thought. It had gotten pretty dark, but... it wasn't like it was night or anything.  
  
"I'll be okay. I've been out later than this." You laughed.  
  
Amy frowned at you for a moment, then dug out her cellphone and waved it at you. "You'd better be sure to call me when you get home! Or if you run into trouble!"  
  
"Haha, I know the drill, Mom!" You replied, pushing her phone back towards her. "I've gotta get going now, or I'll end up late! See you guys on Monday!" You waved goodbye, running off.  
  
"B-be careful, F/n!"  
  
"If I don't see you on Monday, I'm gonna kill you!!"  
  
What would you do without friends?  
  
**[Advance to ♦6]**


	6. ♦5 The Mad Hatter

The smell of food wafting around the Fairgrounds was pretty tantalizing... and it had been a while since you'd eaten something that was terrible for you...  
  
"Judging by that drooly expression, you probably want food!" Amy announced, and you blushed with embarrassment.  
  
"W-what?!? I wasn't drooling!"  
  
She ignored you and continued. "So what about you, Laura?"  
  
"Umm... rides sound nice..." She shifted nervously from the attention.  
  
"So that leaves me and Merch!" She grabbed his arm before he could protest, and began dragging him off. "We'll all meet back here in a few hours, okay? Have fun!" And with that, she vanished with Merch into the crowds. (This time, you could definitely hear him protesting.)  
  
"Ahaha, poor Merch!" Matt cheerily laughed, turning to you. "Well, shall we?" He leaned down a little, extending an arm to you.  
  
"O-oh, yeah!" You reluctantly took his arm, feeling a little shy at the action. You quickly turned to Laura and Dorian before you left. "I'll see you later!"  
  
"R-right!" Laura replied, seeming a little nervous at the prospect of being alone with Dorian. The latter merely gave you a lazy little wave.  
  
And with that, you were alone with Matt.  
  
~  
  
It was no wonder the smell of food was so strong by the ticket booth; the food stands were just a stone's throw away.  
  
"Wow..." Your mouth was watering at the sight of all the delicious, fattening foods. "So, what did you want to try?" You turned excitedly to Matt.  
  
"Everything, of course!" He smiled pleasantly, and you nodded, turning back to the stands.  
  
"Of course! We'll just need to get a really big tray, and..." You paused, and did a double-take. "Wait, everything?!?"  
  
"Yes." He didn't seem to realize the absurdity of his statement. "I've never had 'Fair food' before. Quite a bit of 'Good food', but never 'Fair food'."  
  
"Wait, wait. I... I think you're somehow misunderstanding." You furrowed your brows. "These are two different types of 'Fair'."  
  
"Really?" He frowned a little at you. "I thought they called it that because everything was sub-par."  
  
"N-no, it's 'Fair' as in like... a Carnival, you know?"  
  
"So it's actually 'Carnival food', then." He looked pretty interested in the conversation. Had it been anyone else you would have assumed they were just messing with you, but... something about Matt made him seem completely genuine.  
  
"Yeah." You frowned, trying to sort the conversation.  
  
"Well, it works either way, then." He looked satisfied. "I've never had 'Carnival food', either."  
  
"Really...? Never?" You found that hard to believe, even if he **was** part of some kind of gang or mafia.  
  
"No, never." He dismissed your question in such a cold manner that it threw you for a loop. "So we're not able to try everything?" He sounded impatient.  
  
"We'll try them all, just one at a time." You recovered from your shock, getting in line for the corn dogs, Matt following suit. You reached for your money, but he stopped you, giving you a warm smile.  
  
"I can pay for you. After all, it is my idea, right?"  
  
You laughed a little nervously, your hand retreating from his. "O-Oh well, thank you, then."  
  
~  
  
True to his word, he'd paid for all the food and drinks, and by the time you were down to the last course, mini-donuts, you were sure your arteries were clogged. "So, what did you think of the food?" You asked, half-heartedly eating a donut.  
  
"You were right." He smiled, drinking the tea he'd mysteriously returned with on one food trip. "It certainly wasn't 'Fair food'. However, it's a bit heavy."  
  
"Ugh, I know." You collapsed onto the table. "It's 'too much of a good thing'." You sighed.  
  
"So it's just as soon 'the perfect amount of a bad thing'." When you looked up at him, he was resting his head on his palm, smiling strangely down at you.  
  
"Um... I guess." That was an odd way to put it. As soon as you replied, his face went blank and he studied you silently. "...w-what?"  
  
He closed his eyes, and took a sip of his tea. "You should get a haircut."  
  
That was abrupt. And, frankly, a little rude. "W-what? That's not exactly a polite thing to say." You sat up, insulted.  
  
To his benefit, once you'd pointed it out he looked a little surprised. "Oh...? Sorry. Usually Merch is here to point these sorts of things out."  
  
"Bad things about people?" You were still a little bitter, despite his apology.  
  
"No." Matt suddenly looked a little wistful, swirling his paper cup of tea. "When I've insulted people."  
  
Now _that_ was an interesting thing to say. How could he not know? You'd been about to ask when he interrupted you. "It's about time to head back, isn't it?"  
  
You checked your phone, and were surprised to find that he was right. "Yeah... how did you know?" There were no clocks around, and you'd never seen him take out a phone.  
  
He stood, smiling cheerfully and offering to help you stand. "I have a very good internal clock."  
  
You accepted his hand, standing. "Internal clock, huh? That must come in handy."  
  
"More than you know." He chuckled, and the two of you headed back to the ticket booth.  
  
~  
  
Laura and Dorian returned first, Laura looking a little pale as she explained the series of terrifying rides her and Dorian had gone on (honestly, just listening to her talk about it was making you feel a little sick, especially after all the food you'd eaten), then Amy and Merch returned, the latter looking just as irritated as he had when he'd left.  
  
"Y'know, that was pretty fun!" Amy laughed happily.  
  
"Ugh..." You could hear Merch mutter something, but couldn't quite make it out.  
  
"We should do this sort of thing again sometime!" Matt cheerfully suggested, Dorian nodding in agreement.  
  
"We should." You agreed, smiling. It had been genuinely fun, and while you didn't really learn anything about the boys' reasons for being here, at least you **did** get to know Matt a little better.  
  
"It's getting pretty late." Merch spoke up, glancing at his phone. "We're gonna have to head out." He gave Dorian and Matt a strangely sharp look as he turned and began walking off; if they noticed, they didn't look affected, but...  
  
"Ahaha, that's true. I suppose we **do** have things to attend to." Matt raised his hat to you, Laura and Amy. "It was nice spending time with you! Have a lovely evening!" He added a quick wink in your direction, leaving you feeling a little nervous.  
  
"Hey, thanks!" Amy grinned happily. "You, too!"  
  
"See ya..." Dorian gave the three of you a wave, and just like that, the three boys vanished into the crowd of fair-goers.  
  
You heaved out a sigh you hadn't realized you'd been holding in.  
  
"...Missing them already, huh?" Amy teased, giving you a knowing look.  
  
"What?!? No!!" You panicked, rounding on her. "I'm just exhausted!! I ate a ton of food!"  
  
"Oh yeah... frankly, I was surprised you didn't go with Merch, since... y'know." She smiled conspiratorially at you, and you blanched.  
  
"Seriously! I told you, there's nothing going on between me and Merch!!" Sure, if she meant that mutual sense of irritation you gave each other, she was right; but you knew she was implying you had a crush on him. And you didn't.  
  
"H-hey, c-calm down!" Laura beseeched the two of you, her cheeks dusted pink with embarrassment from the looks you were drawing.  
  
"Sorry, sorry!" Amy apologized, laughing. "I was only kidding."  
  
"Ugh, I know." You sighed unhappily.  
  
"But I mean, do you really dislike him so much? He didn't seem so bad." She continued.  
  
"It's not that..." The three of you began walking to the Fairgrounds exit. "It's just... he can be so aggravating. I can't see myself with a guy like that."  
  
"You guys are pretty similar..." Laura softly noted. When your gaze shot over to her, she quickly waved both hands placatingly. "I-I mean, they d-do say that people don't generally like people too much like themselves, s-so..." She trailed off, and you pouted.  
  
"We're nothing alike." For starters, you'd never murder someone.  
  
"Well, regardless of who's like who..." Amy waited for you to dissent, and when you said nothing, she continued. "Can we all at least agree we had fun today?"  
  
"Actually, yeah." You smiled again. It **had** been fun. Laura nodded in agreement, too.  
  
"Great!" Amy clapped her hands together, seeming pleased. "Oh, hey, F/n, I almost forgot! My mom wanted to know if you wanted to come over for dinner! Laura's coming, too, so we could make a sleepover out of it!"  
  
"Sorry, I can't." You smiled apologetically at the two. "I promised my Dad I'd get home a little early tonight. Maybe next time?"  
  
"Yeah, no problem!" Amy didn't seem too terribly put out, but you could tell she was a little sad you couldn't come.  
  
"Oh... are you walking home alone...?" Laura shifted nervously at the thought. It had gotten pretty dark, but... it wasn't like it was night or anything.  
  
"I'll be okay. I've been out later than this." You laughed.  
  
Amy frowned at you for a moment, then dug out her cellphone and waved it at you. "You'd better be sure to call me when you get home! Or if you run into trouble!"  
  
"Haha, I know the drill, Mom!" You replied, pushing her phone back towards her. "I've gotta get going now, or I'll end up late! See you guys on Monday!" You waved goodbye, running off.  
  
"B-be careful, F/n!"  
  
"If I don't see you on Monday, I'm gonna kill you!!"  
  
What would you do without friends?  
  
**[Advance to ♦6]**


	7. ♦5 The March Hare

There was too much to do at a fair, it was pretty tough to choose. "I don't know... I think I need a minute."  
  
"Well... how about you, Laura?" Amy turned to Laura, who seemed surprised by the question.  
  
"Um, well... r-rides sound fun..." She shifted nervously.  
  
"Alright then! I'm practically starving, so I'll go get some food with you, Matt!" He smiled agreeably at her, and she turned to you. "You and Merch can figure out what you want to do, okay? We'll all meet back here in a few hours! Have fun!" With that, she and Matt vanished into the crowd.  
  
"U-um, so! Should we g-go line up?" Laura asked Dorian, who had been staring at the rides the whole time.  
  
"...yeah..." He nodded.  
  
"See you later, F/n." Laura smiled pleasantly, if not a little nervously, before leaving with Dorian.  
  
Suddenly, you were alone with Merch.  
  
"So, umm... what do you want to do?" Wow, this was a bit awkward. You'd never really **chosen** to spend time alone with Merch before (not that you'd exactly "chosen" to this time either, but... close enough.)  
  
"Honestly? Nothing, really." He was somewhat warily eyeing the crowds of people. "I don't like busy things like this."  
  
"Oh? Hmmm... I can't really say I feel either way, honestly." Sure, Fairs were fun, but you could see Merch's point, too. "Why don't we just look around for a bit? Maybe we'll find something cool."  
  
He shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Alright. Lead on."  
  
With that decided, you ventured into the crowds.  
  
~  
  
You'd been passing through the game booths when something caught your eye; a perfectly adorable stuffed squid. It was pale pink with a frilly red bow, and big, cute eyes. And you immediately wanted it.  
  
With a small exclamation, you bee-lined for the booth, temporarily throwing Merch for a loop with the sudden action.  
  
"Care to try your luck, little lady?" The man operating the booth asked, motioning to the targets behind him. "The rules are simple! Use this gun to shoot a target, and win! Would you like to play?"  
  
Merch distastefully eyed the stand. "Seriously? C'mon, F/n. You're not actually going to-"  
  
"Yes, I'd like to play." You slapped your money down for five shots, ignoring Merch. You wanted that squid.  
  
It was a "large" prize, so you'd have to hit the smallest target three times. You picked up the shotgun, and carefully lined it up, ignoring Merch's irritated huff. Once you were sure of the shot, you pulled the trigger.  
  
BANG.  
  
You stared in disappointment at the unscathed target, going limp. "Ugh, I'm never gonna win it..." All that money down the drain. If that was your best...  
  
"Here, let me do it."  
  
Before you could protest, Merch reached out and took the gun from you. "B-but..." He completely ignored you, instead taking a moment to aim, closing one eye and looking down the barrel of the gun. "Merch, I really don't think-"  
  
BANG.  
  
PING.  
  
You stared in surprise as the smallest target swung from the bullet's impact. You looked back over at Merch, expecting to see smugness, but instead he had a blank look on his face, lining up his second shot.  
  
Honestly, he looked pretty badass.  
  
BANG.  
  
PING.  
  
He hit the target a second time, and your excitement mounted; maybe it wouldn't be impossible! You were so focused on what Merch was doing that you didn't notice a strange man approach you.  
  
"Hey girlie, waitin' on your boyfriend?"  
  
"Huh?" You turned, barely acknowledging the man before turning back. "He's not my boyfriend."  
  
"Oh, he isn't, huh? Cute thing like you, all alone..." You felt a hand on your waist, and you stiffened and turned, ready to belt the offender into next week.  
  
BANG.  
  
"SHIT!!"  
  
Only you didn't need to. It had happened so quickly; the second the guy's hand touched your waist, Merch had re-directed the large gun towards him and fired, the plastic bullet narrowly missing the man's face by centimeters, flying harmlessly into the distance.  
  
"W-WHAT THE HELL?!?" The man had stumbled backwards in shock, and was now staring angrily at Merch.  
  
Merch, on the other hand, was smiling. Not a happy smile, no; this was the kind of smile you had often seen in slasher manga, before the killer brutally murdered someone.  
  
"Whoops. Guess I missed." He didn't lower the gun, still pointing it at the man. "Lucky for me, I've still got one more shot."  
  
"O-one more...? S-screw this, I'm out!" The man took off, and Merch's creepy smile vanished.  
  
"H-Hey, kid! You can't just shoot at people like that..." The booth attendant meekly supplied. "I'm gonna have to call security if you do that again..."  
  
Merch was already lining his last shot up. "I told you. It was-"  
  
BANG.  
  
PING.  
  
"-An accident." He finished, setting the gun down. The attendant cleared his throat, and somewhat nervously announced that he had a winner. Merch turned to you. "What did you want?"  
  
"Oh!!! That cute squid!!" You quickly recovered from your shock at the prospect of getting the stuffed creature, and you laughed happily as the man handed it to you. Merch was giving you a strange look, and so you gave him one right back. "What?"  
  
"A squid?" Your answer was to hug it defensively, and he rolled his eyes, walking off. "You're bizarre."  
  
You caught up with him, falling into step. "Me? What about you? You almost shot that guy! One-handed, to boot!"  
  
"So? He was annoying me, yammering on like that." He narrowed his hazel eyes at the thought of it.  
  
"Actually, it was pretty cool." You giggled.  
  
"...cool...?" Merch quietly repeated to himself. You thought you could see his cheeks get a little pink, but... it was probably just the colored lights; it was getting pretty late.  
  
"Yeah, like something out of an anim..." You blanched and trailed off before quickly recovering. "...al documentary. Animal documentary." You mentally slapped a hand to your face. Smooth save.  
  
"..." Merch was staring at you like you'd grown a second head, and you desperately searched for a distraction; thankfully you were near the ticket booth, and you could see the others waiting for you.  
  
"O-Oh!! There's the others! Hey, guys!!!" You waved, mentally thanking the powers that be.  
  
"Hey!" Amy waved you over. "Y'know, that was pretty fun!" She laughed happily.  
  
"We should do this sort of thing again sometime." Matt cheerfully suggested, and Dorian nodded in agreement.  
  
"We should." You agreed, smiling. It had genuinely been fun, and while you didn't learn anything about the boys' reasons for being here, at least you **did** get to know Merch a little better.  
  
"It's getting pretty late." Merch spoke up, glancing at his phone. "We're gonna have to head out." He gave Dorian and Matt a strangely sharp look as he turned and began walking off; if they noticed, they didn't look affected, but...  
  
"Ahaha, that's true. I suppose we **do** have things to attend to." Matt raised his hat to you, Laura and Amy. "It was nice spending time with you! Have a lovely evening!"  
  
"Hey, thanks!" Amy grinned happily. "You, too!"  
  
"See ya..." Dorian gave the three of you a lazy wave.  
  
As you watched the three boys leave, before you could even really think about it you had called out to Merch. "See you at school!"  
  
He paused, turning back and staring at you a moment, before scoffing and turning away. "Yeah, see you."  
  
And just like that, the three boys vanished into the crowd of fair-goers.  
  
You heaved out a sigh you hadn't realized you'd been holding in.  
  
"...Missing them already, huh?" Amy teased, giving you a knowing look.  
  
"What?!? No!!" You panicked, rounding on her. "I'm just exhausted!! I walked all over the place!"  
  
"You sure? I mean, you **did** decide to go with Merch, and... y'know." She smiled conspiratorially at you, and you blanched.  
  
"Seriously! I told you, there's nothing going on between me and Merch!!" Sure, maybe he irritated you a little less now, but you know she was implying you had a crush on him, and you didn't.  
  
"H-hey, c-calm down!" Laura beseeched the two of you, her cheeks dusted pink with embarrassment from the looks you were drawing.  
  
"Sorry, sorry!" Amy apologized, laughing. "I was only kidding."  
  
"Ugh, I know." You sighed unhappily.  
  
"But I mean, do you really dislike him so much? He didn't seem so bad." She continued.  
  
"It's not that..." The three of you began walking to the Fairgrounds exit. "It's just... he can be so aggravating. I can't see myself with a guy like that."  
  
"You guys are pretty similar..." Laura softly noted. When your gaze shot over to her, she quickly waved both hands placatingly. "I-I mean, they d-do say that people don't generally like people too much like themselves, s-so..." She trailed off, and you pouted.  
  
"We're nothing alike." For starters, you'd never murder someone.  
  
"Well, regardless of who's like who..." Amy waited for you to dissent, and when you said nothing, she continued. "Can we all at least agree we had fun today?"  
  
"Actually, yeah." You smiled again. It **had** been fun. Laura nodded in agreement, too.  
  
"Great!" Amy clapped her hands together, seeming pleased. "Oh, hey, F/n, I almost forgot! My mom wanted to know if you wanted to come over for dinner! Laura's coming, too, so we could make a sleepover out of it!"  
  
"Sorry, I can't." You smiled apologetically at the two. "I promised my Dad I'd get home a little early tonight. Maybe next time?"  
  
"Yeah, no problem!" Amy didn't seem too terribly put out, but you could tell she was a little sad you couldn't come.  
  
"Hey, actually, do you think you could hang on to Squidette for me? You guys haven't got so far to walk." You waved the plush pink squid at Amy, and she laughed, snatching it.  
  
"Sure, sure. She'll sleepover with my stuffies!"  
  
"Oh... are you walking home alone...?" Laura shifted nervously at the thought. It had gotten pretty dark, but... it wasn't like it was night or anything.  
  
"I'll be okay. I've been out later than this." You laughed.  
  
Amy frowned at you for a moment, then dug out her cellphone and waved it at you. "You'd better be sure to call me when you get home! Or if you run into trouble!"  
  
"Haha, I know the drill, Mom!" You replied, pushing her phone back towards her. "I've gotta get going now, or I'll end up late! See you guys on Monday!" You waved goodbye, running off.  
  
"B-be careful, F/n!"  
  
"If I don't see you on Monday, I'm gonna kill you!!"  
  
What would you do without friends?  
  
**[Advance to ♦6]**


	8. ♦6

Walking home alone wasn’t quite what it used to be, before the whole “almost dying” incident. You hadn’t given dangers in the town much thought, but now... you were on edge. Every alley, every stranger on the street... it was silly, but you couldn’t help it. Especially since the street you were walking on now was literally abandoned. No cars, no people. It was like something out of a zombie movie, or a dramatic scene in a dark manga, except you weren’t a cool, super-powered heroine.  
  
Lost in thoughts about the movies and anime you'd seen, you almost didn't catch the familiar voices coming from an upcoming alley; when you stopped walking and listened, you could tell there were at least four voices.  
  
"-trying to tell me they know somehow." The voice, clearly Merch's, sounded more irate than usual.  
  
"She wouldn't be that lucky." This voice sounded amused, having a lilt you recognized as Matt's.  
  
"I doubt luck is a factor." It sounded like the owner of the voice was smiling, but... you didn't recognize it. It was clearly male, and had a sort of smug quality to it that was clearly irritating Merch further, if the curtness of the latter's next reply was anything to go by.  
  
"Obviously somebody screwed up somewhere. Again."  
  
"...Merch..." Dorian interjected, an odd urgency in his voice. Had he somehow noticed you?  
  
"What?"  
  
"They're coming." He said it so simply and without emotion that you were surprised with the reactions it garnered.  
  
"Dammit. From where?"  
  
"Oh, good. I was just thinking I was getting bored."  
  
"I guess that's my cue to leave. Have fun, you three."  
  
Before Dorian had a chance to reply to Merch, a relatively loud noise startled you.  
  
That was definitely the sound of a gun, and it didn’t sound too far away. You began running in the opposite direction of the noise, pulling out your phone and starting to dial the police as you heard more gunshots. In your haste, your foot caught the edge of a curb, and you fell hard, your knees scraping against the pavement and your phone flying out of your hand.  
  
You woozily uprighted yourself, and from the corner of your eye you noticed a man had rounded the corner of the street, and was now looking directly at you. You didn’t bother to get a look at his face, as something far more important stood out to you about his appearance; You immediately realized that he was holding a gun, pointing it directly at you. “Found you.” He said menacingly.  
  
It didn’t make any sense, but you didn’t try to understand it; instead, you scrambled to grab your phone, which had slid a couple feet away, to finish calling the police. Just as you managed to clumsily grasp it, the sound of gunshots echoed in the street, and you braced yourself for pain.  
  
But none came.  
  
You reluctantly opened your eyes to see the man now laid out on the ground face-down, something shiny sticking out of his back. Realizing he was dead, you quickly averted your gaze in horror, and when you did you noticed someone else standing a short distance from the man: Dorian.  
  
He had a strange look on his face, almost... blank. Like he wasn’t actually there. You could see something shiny reflected in his right hand, just like whatever you’re seen stuck in the (now dead) man’s back. You sat there, stunned, and heard shouting and running, a few more people in white with guns turning the corner and onto the street. Dorian turned to face them, and you caught a glimpse of Matt before you realized that some of the bullets being fired were aimed at you.  
  
For some reason, though, you just... sat there. Even though everything in your head was screaming at you to run, your body just wouldn’t respond, frozen in the spot and clutching your phone.  
  
Gunshots came from behind you, injuring some of the strangers, then you heard Merch’s voice. “F/n, move!!!” However you didn’t respond, staring in shock at the blood flying all over the darkened street. More white-clad strangers were coming now, and you heard Merch swear from behind you and the whizzing of bullets through the air.  
  
“Dory!!” He shouted, and you felt his arms grab you around your waist and pull you backwards with him violently.  
  
And that’s when things got really weird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a quick note:  
> Edited entire story: February 17/16  
> -Went back through old chapters and fixed the "F/n" letters so they're all consistent.


	9. ♦7

There was an audible noise, something you could liken to your ears popping, and the world around you began to melt away. There were blurs and streaks of vibrant colors, and you swore you saw large branches and the bright blue of the sky, and suddenly your body jerked upwards as though you’d hit something bouncy. You fell for a much shorter amount of time after that, hitting something solid pretty hard and rolling off a short distance.  
  
Dazed, you laid still on your back for a moment, taking in your new environment. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue, partially obscured by massive tree branches to your right, and a gargantuan, cartoonish red mushroom cap to your left. There was a light breeze, and you could faintly hear birds chirping in the distance. You shifted your hand in front of your face, belatedly realizing you’d been clutching your phone like a lifeline. Unfortunately, the front of it was pretty cracked, likely from when it had connected with the pavement, and it wouldn’t even turn on.  
  
As you laid there and stared up at your phone, dumbfounded and wondering if you’d died and gone to some psychedelic afterlife, you heard a quiet groan followed by muttering, and you sat straight up. Was it one of the people with guns? Almost immediately after the thought had entered your mind, you remembered that there was one other person who could have ended up here with you: Merch.  
  
You scrambled to your hands and knees, intending to rush over to him and make sure he was alright, but instead faltered when your eyes fell on him, or at least, where you could only assume he had fallen.  
  
There was a young man sitting up in the grass, groaning in slight pain and mumbling something indiscernible to himself. His eyes and hair were the same color as Merch’s, although the latter was a bit longer. Despite those similarities, what really clinched the difference was the clothes the strange man was wearing; He wore a short-sleeved dress shirt with a yellow argyle-patterned tie, underneath a faded orange short-sleeved hoodie. It looked like the sleeves zipped on a t the shoulders, because the left sleeve was missing entirely, exposing his shoulder and a tattoo that appeared to be the silhouette of a rabbit head with an “x” behind it. On his hands, he wore yellow argyle fingerless gloves that matched his tie, and he wore a pair of worn jeans with a few holes in them.  
  
He had stood up while you were observing his attire, and had made his way over to you. “You okay?”  
  
You immediately scooted away, horrified. “L-look, I don’t know who you are, but... I’m warning you, I’ll call the cops!” You held your broken phone in front of yourself as menacingly as possible, and the twenty-something year old stared at you with exasperation.  
  
“Seriously, F/n. We don’t have time for this.” He glanced around before continuing. “I don’t look **that** different.”  
  
“How would I know?” You accused. “I don’t know you!!”  
  
“Really.” He said it flatly, clearly a little irritated. Despite that, he knelt down to your level, and spoke a little more softly. “How am I supposed to prove it?”  
  
You frowned, and then got an idea. “What are my friend’s names?!?” There’s no way some random guy from... wherever this was... would know that.  
  
“Amy and Laura. Are we good now?” He extended a hand to you. But... if this guy was Merch...  
  
“H-How...?” You ignored his hand, instead moving closer and examining him. His tan skin still had the same scars, and his hazel eyes were exactly the same. It was Merch, just more... grown up. And frankly, attractive.  
  
“Uh... do you mind?” Merch was a little pink, and suddenly realizing how close you were, you scooted away, laughing awkwardly and a little too loud. He recovered quickly. “Look, I can explain things to you, just not here or now, okay? We’ve gotta move.”  
  
“Right, right!” You both stood, and Merch scanned the area quickly before grabbing your hand and heading off. You jumped a little at the sudden contact, but didn't shake his hand off; it wasn't like you knew where you were, and you sure as hell didn't want to get lost if there was a chance someone was after you.  
  
None of this made any sense; one minute you had been on a dark street getting shot at, and the next minute you were in some fantastical forest with an older boy, running from danger.  
  
God, it sounded like a plot from an anime.  
  
It was then you suddenly recalled that Matt and Dorian had been present on the street, yet they hadn’t turned up here with you and Merch. Despite his promise to explain later, you couldn’t help but ask about it as you ducked under a massive root. “Merch, what happened to Matt and Dorian?”  
  
“They’ll catch up with us.” He answered simply, continuing onwards.  
  
When the two of you had finally stopped, you’d covered quite a bit of distance from your original location, and had found yourself hidden under a particularly large tree’s arching roots. Before you could begin to question Merch, however, he told you to stay hidden while he did a quick patrol to ensure you weren’t followed, and suddenly you were alone.  
  
You waited patiently for what felt like forever, staring at the massive roots and wondering how any of this was even possible. Maybe you were dreaming, or... dead? The thought unsettled you, and you quickly decided to think about something else. Specifically, what was taking Merch so long? You stood and took a few steps out of your hiding place, hoping to catch a glimpse of the orange-clad man, but after a few minutes of unsuccessful scouting you sighed.  
  
You began turning back, prepared to hide under the roots again when the feeling of something small and hard pressed to your back, and you froze; it felt like it was a gun. You had ignored Merch’s instructions, and one of the men had found you. If you weren’t already dead, you **would** be soon. You wanted to scream, run, do something, **anything** , but... you were too scared. You just stood , completely frozen.  
  
That was when you heard it.  
  
“Bang.”  
  
A man’s voice spoke from behind you, followed by good-natured laughter. You turned in confusion as the small pressure was removed, and saw a rather tall man with black hair that was a little long the right side and vibrant green eyes standing behind you. He was wearing an untucked white dress shirt with a green vest and black tie over top, a crooked red belt that hung loosely over his hip, black dress pants, and a black fedora decorated with green flowers and a playing card, the Ace of Spades.  
  
“M-Matt...?” You stammered curiously, and he offered you a smile.  
  
“I couldn’t resist. You’re very exposed, you know.” He factually commented. It was then you noticed he was holding a chain in his hand, and as you followed it down you noticed it was attached to an odd-looking teapot. “Certainly Merch didn’t leave you like this.”  
  
“Well, no, I...” You trailed off, having trouble taking in the now older Matt and thinking at the same time. “I went to see what was taking him so long.”  
  
“Ah, so he... should be back soon.” Another voice startled you, and you finally noticed its owner lounging lazily on top of a nearby root. It was definitely Dorian; his pale blonde hair had been braided in the few places it had gotten long, and he was now wearing a knee-length faded blue jacket that looked like the sleeves had been torn in certain spots by claws, and the button-straps in front had been done up improperly, but good enough that the jacket didn't bunch up strangely. The shirt he wore underneath had numerous, randomly placed zippers, and he wore a similar pair of pants to the ones he had first worn, with patches made from pajama pants in them.  
  
Almost as though talking about him had summoned him, Merch returned, looking sort of annoyed. "F/n! Seriously, didn't I tell you to stay hidden??"  
  
"W-well, yeah, but-" You began to protest, gesturing to Matt and Dorian.  
  
"That's no excuse, you-" He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes narrowing. "Wait, you just immediately trust who **they** say they are?!?"  
  
Crap. He had a point; you'd just sort of assumed that because they looked similar, it was them. "I mean, I already expected it! I saw that you'd gotten older!" You huffed. "Besides, I was fine, I could've handled myself!" It didn't matter if Merch was a little older than you'd thought, you were practically an adult.  
  
"I could have killed her." Matt oh-so-unhelpfully supplied, playfully making a gun motion at you with his hand.  
  
"She was... completely oblivious." Dorian added, and you blanched.  
  
"D-damnit, you guys..." You muttered to yourself and clenched your fist, refusing to look at Merch. The jerk was probably smug as hell right now.  
  
You heard him exhale in clear frustration before speaking. "Look, next time I tell you to do something like that, do yourself a favor and listen to me." Surprisingly, he didn't sound at all smug, and when you looked up you could see nothing but seriousness in his expression.  
  
You nodded mutely, and he turned away from you to face Matt. "I didn't see any of them around here. You guys?"  
  
"A few." Matt off-handedly replied, then smiled and lifted the odd-looking teapot; to your surprise when he touched it, two blades popped out, dripping with a little red liquid. "But they won't be bothering us."  
  
Blood. It was blood.  
  
Merch made a face at the weapon. "You couldn't have cleaned that? You almost got blood on me." Matt huffed, weapon withdrawing and subsequently spattering a little blood on the ground. Merch turned to Dorian and spoke, ignoring the new blood on the ground. "So, can we return safely from here, Dory?"  
  
There was a pause as Dorian surveyed the area before replying. "Not here, exactly. But... over... there is fine." He pointed to a wooded area nearby.  
  
"Right. C'mon, let's-"  
  
"Wait!!" You shouted, causing all three boys to look at you. "I... look, I need to know what the heck is going on!! I mean, this is just too much!!!"  
  
"We can talk about it once we're-" Merch began, but you cut him off.  
  
"No! I need to know now!" There was just no way you could go anywhere else yet. "Please..." You pleaded, staring desperately at the boys. Your pleas must have worked, because Merch sighed in frustration.  
  
"Fine, fine." He leaned against a root, and gestured for you to sit. Matt had seated himself on a nearby rock, and so you sat adjacent to him on a different rock. "What do you need to know?"  
  
You had many questions, but one sprang to mind quickly. "Where am I?"  
  
"Outsiders call it 'Wonderland'." Matt supplied from next to you.  
  
"It's not really a 'place' in a physical sense." Merch explained further. "It's more like... a different reality."  
  
"A different reality... like another dimension?"  
  
"More or less." Merch confirmed. "It occupies the same space as the 'Normal'... uh, your 'dimension'." He corrected himself before continuing. "So the two aren't actually separate."  
  
"But if that's true, then why don't I see my world right now, or 'Wonderland' when I'm back home?" After all, if they occupied the same space...  
  
"Very few can perceive it. It requires an intensely heightened state of mind to see both as they are, in the same place." Matt had spoken up this time. "However, you can only physically exist in one reality at a time."  
  
Your head sort of hurt. "So even though we can't see it, or touch it, my world is here right now?"  
  
"....yep." Dorian replied, his eyes closed.  
  
"Ugh... so how did I get here, then?" Obviously you didn't have some 'heightened state of mind'.  
  
"Dorian sent you." Matt spoke, sipping a cup of tea. Frankly, you had no idea where he'd gotten it from, but felt like it was the least of your questions at the moment.  
  
"... Dorian...?" Your eyes wandered to the relaxed-looking man. "But how...?"  
  
"Dorian is... special." Merch sounded oddly unsure. "He can open 'tears' between our two worlds when he needs to."  
  
"He can... what?" Magic?!? This was getting too weird. "I'm... definitely dreaming. There's no other explanation."  
  
Merch heaved a long-suffering sigh. "I knew I shouldn't have said that. Look, this'll make it easier to believe." He stood up straight and held both his hands out, palms upwards. "I'm not holding anything." You looked at him like he was crazy, but he continued. "How about..." He shifted his hand as though he was holding a handgun, and... suddenly he was holding one. "Now?"  
  
You stared, mouth agape. "Wh-what?!? That's..." You narrowed your eyes. "You were hiding that somewhere!!"  
  
Matt laughed from next to you, covering his mouth.  
  
"You clearly saw I didn't have it!!" Merch retorted with irritation.  
  
"Yeah, in your hands!! You could've hid it in your clothes!!"  
  
"Fine!! You want something irrefutable?!?" He tossed the gun behind him and it vanished into thin air. Before you could comment on the vanishing gun, he was suddenly holding a massive gatling gun in his hands. "Happy?"  
  
"Holy crap!!!" You fell backwards off the rock you'd sat on, so surprised you'd lost your balance. "D-don't point something like that at someone!!!"  
  
"Tch." He dropped it, and like the handgun before it, it vanished into thin air. "You're the one who needed more proof. It's not like I was going to shoot you, anyways."  
  
"So..." You recovered, sitting back down on the rock. "You guys are all... magical?" You questioned. Dorian could teleport people. Merch could make guns appear, and disappear. "... What about you...?" You turned to Matt. Was making tea appear his skill?  
  
He was resting his elbows on his knees, and resting his head on his tented fingers. As soon as you asked, his green eyes darkened and his lips quirked into a malice-filled smirk. "You **don't** want to know." You shivered, looking away.  
  
"O-okay... so, that brings me to my second question." You slapped your hands to your lap for emphasis. "Why do you all look different?"  
  
"This is what we actually look like." Merch answered simply.  
  
You furrowed your brows. "So then, why do you look different in **my** world?"  
  
"That's a little... uncertain." Dorian answered this time. "When I pass us... through the tears... it's hard to maintain our... actual forms." He paused a moment, clearly trying to think of a simple explanation. "I have trouble... focusing on both our... physical forms and... passing from one world to the... other."  
  
"Those are just the easiest appearances to maintain when we pass through, since those are the ones Dorian remembers the best." Merch supplied, summing up Dorian's explanation.  
  
"But when you come back here, you don't need to do that?" You asked.  
  
"No." Dorian replied. "We don't belong... in the 'Normal'... so our appearances can... change when we cross there."  
  
"Change... to anything?" You asked a little meekly.  
  
"Basically." Merch answered. "Honestly, we're pretty lucky Dorian can make us look anything like ourselves. There's always the chance we could end up looking... well, really messed up." He ran a hand through his hair, frowning to himself.  
  
Okay, so that (sort of) explained that. Merch was starting to look antsy, so you decided to ask him one last question. "The last thing I need to know is... who were those guys and why did they want me dead?"  
  
All three boys were silent for a moment,until Merch finally spoke. "They were the White Queen's soldiers. I can't tell you more, other than the fact they're bad news." He looked discomforted. "And I... I really don't know what they want with you." He ran a hand through his hair. "Hell, I don't even know how they know **about** you..." He muttered.  
  
"A Queen... wants me dead?" If that wasn't epitome of weird, you didn't know what was. You tried to fully process everything, but no matter how hard you tried you just couldn't do it. "Can I... can we go home?" You asked softly.  
  
"...yeah. C'mon." Merch stood fully and headed over to the wooded area the Dorian had pointed out earlier. You sat still in place for a moment, only coming back to reality when you noticed Matt had stood from next to you and extended a hand to help you up, smiling warmly. Somewhat dazedly you accepted, and he pulled you into a standing position easily.  
  
When you didn't let go of his hand, his smile got a little wider. "Well, if you'd like to hold hands that's fine with me."  
  
You jumped when you realized your mistake, quickly retreating your hand and muttering half-heartedly in embarrassment, hurrying after Merch and Dorian.  
  
Once all four of you stood in the specific area, you glanced unsurely at Dorian, who was looking around intently before finally turning to face the three of you.  
  
"Ready?" He asked simply, and you nodded, then something strange happened.  
  
You noticed Dorian was quite openly staring at you, something you immediately recognized as odd despite having only known him for a short time. You returned his gaze, and noticed his eyes widened a little, and from so close you could see that something inside of his irises was actually **moving**. It was like a grayscale kaleidoscope, and you found yourself so entranced that when he turned away from you, you realized with a start that you were back in your 'home' reality, your limbs feeling a little like jelly and with Matt's arm around your waist.  
  
Your face flushed red when you realized this, and Matt smiled cheerfully at you, removing his arm. "You seemed like you could use a little help."  
  
"Yeah, th-thanks." You looked around the street you ended up on, getting your bearings; you were only three blocks from your house. "Well, umm... thank you." You turned to the boys, who once again looked exactly as you'd left them at the Fair. "Y'know, for... saving me from those guys."  
  
"It was our pleasure." Matt offered.  
  
"Yeah... no problem." Dorian added.  
  
Merch said nothing.  
  
"Well, I'm going to head, uh, home..." You shifted in the direction of your house.  
  
"...Do you need... company?" Dorian asked, looking up at the sky.  
  
"No, I should be okay." You smiled a little awkwardly. "Thanks, though. See you guys." You turned and began quickly walking home, not even waiting to hear the boys' farewells.  
  
Your hands shook as you looked at your cracked phone, and you were surprised to find it turned back on, and that you were three hours late getting home. Numerous missed call and text notifications began popping up, and you quickly pocketed the phone, knowing it was your Dad and friends.  
  
Oh god, what were you going to tell your Dad?  
  
You could see your house, immediately noticing that all the lights were on. As you walked up the steps to the front door, you took a deep breath and calmed yourself as you dug around for your keys, only to come up empty-handed. With a sinking feeling, you realized they must have fallen out at some point. Instead, you meekly knocked on the door, steeling yourself.  
  
The door flew open, and your Dad stared down at you, a mix of emotions in his honey-brown eyes; anger, fear, worry, but mostly relief. "God, F/n!!" He immediately hugged you close, his blonde stubble scratching your cheek a little. "Where have you been?!? I was so worried..."  
  
"D-Dad..." You hugged him back. "I... I'm really sorry... I lost track of time..." You felt even guiltier, noticing he hadn't even changed out of his work clothes. He had been so worried, he'd clearly forgotten about it.  
  
He let you go after another moment, looking at you sternly. "You lost track of time? All by yourself?"  
  
Shoot. Amy must have called your Dad when you never called her after the Fair. "I... well..." You weren't sure what to say.  
  
"I've got half a mind to never let you leave this house again." He was justifiably upset.  
  
You were floundering for an excuse when you heard a voice from the end of your walkway.  
  
"F/n, you dropped your keys." You turned, seeing Merch approach you. Sure enough, he held your house keys out to you. "Hello, Sir." He addressed your Dad.  
  
"Uh... hello. You are...?" Your Dad looked a little confused, but still unhappy.  
  
"Sorry. I'm Henry Merch, one of your daughter's friends." Your Dad glanced at you for confirmation, and you nodded, walking down the steps and taking your keys from Merch.  
  
"Thanks, Merch... umm, where did I drop them?" You asked without thinking.  
  
"In the Fair Grounds." He replied. "I... think you might have dropped them when you were helping me look for my wallet."  
  
"Oh, right!" You glanced back at your Dad, and he was staring at Merch, his eyes narrowed.  
  
"Actually, it's my fault that F/n was so late. We were all just leaving the Fair when I realized I dropped my wallet somewhere. She offered to help." He looked ashamed. "I'm very sorry."  
  
Your Dad seemed to relent a little at this, but looked back at you. "And why didn't you answer your phone?"  
  
"Well, I kind of dropped it..." You felt bad lying but... you dug out your phone, showing your Dad the cracked screen. "It wouldn't turn on."  
  
Your Dad heaved a sigh, running a hand through his messy blonde hair, but relented fully. "All right, all right. F/n, in the house." You quickly obeyed, walking back up the steps and behind your Dad. "Henry. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't keep my daughter out so late, understand?" He sounded oddly sharp.  
  
"Yeah. Got it." Surprisingly, Merch sounded a little more brusque as well. "See ya, F/n." He turned and walked down your walkway.  
  
You called out your 'goodbye' to before Merch headed down the street, and your Dad closed and locked the front door, turning to face you.  
  
"..." He stared at you, then sighed for the second time since you'd gotten home, and ruffled your hair lovingly. "What am I gonna do with you, kiddo?"  
  
You laughed weakly and grabbed his hand, pulling it off your head, but not letting it go. "Dad..."  
  
"Hm? What's wrong?" He gave you a concerned look, and you couldn't hold back the emotion anymore; you hugged him tightly, screwing your eyes shut. You'd been through so much... you'd almost died, and found out you were becoming involved in some crazy situation...  
  
Your Dad didn't ask, just hugged you back. "It's okay, kiddo, it's okay..." He rubbed your back soothingly, the way he had when you were little.  
  
You fought back your tears. You couldn't cry; you had to think of an excuse for acting like this. "I'm... I'm sorry I worried you, Dad."  
  
"Hey, it's okay now, right?" He pulled away so you could see his smiling face. "You won't do it again." You shook your head fervently and he laughed softly. " So we're all good, okay Lil' Bean?"  
  
You couldn't help but laugh at the nickname, relaxing for the first time all evening. "Lil' Bean? What the heck is that?"  
  
He chuckled, standing fully and heading to the kitchen, you following after. "Don't laugh! I used to call you that all the time when you were little!"  
  
"Whaat? I don't remember that!" You hopped onto the counter while your Dad poured a glass of water and loosened his tie, likely for the first time since he'd gotten home. "What kind of nickname is that, anyway?" He handed you the glass of water, and you gratefully accepted it.  
  
"Well, between you and me..." He looked shiftily around the kitchen as he leaned back against the counter opposite the one you sat on, as though someone would be spying on you. "... You were a bean-shaped baby."  
  
You almost choked on your water. "What?!? What do you mean by that?!?" You laughed.  
  
"Y'know, bean-shaped." He made an outline of a large bean in the air with his fingers. "So I called you my Lil' Bean."  
  
"Bean-shaped!" You hopped off the counter, still chuckling. "That can't be true!"  
  
"It is!" He insisted, adopting a serious look. "The nurses were convinced they should plant you. I had to fight them off!"  
  
You erupted in a fit of laughter, picturing your Dad fighting off nurses carrying pots. Still laughing, you headed down the hall to your room. "Goodnight, Dad!"  
  
"Hey, no hug goodnight for the man who saved you from a life of fertilizer?" He called after you with obviously fake hurt.  
  
Just before closing the door to your room, you ducked your head out the doorway. "I love you, Dad!"  
  
"Love you too, sweetie. Goodnight!" He called back, and you closed your door, content.  
  
~  
  
You laid on your bed, staring up at the dark ceiling. Slowly, you raised your arms up into the air, blankly watching your fingers curl.  
  
"It occupies the same space..." Right now, you could be touching something. A branch, a towering mushroom...  
  
You let your arms fall, closing your eyes.  
  
It was crazy. This was crazy.  
  
You'd clearly lost your mind.


	10. ♦8

Despite everything, over the next week you tried to avoid the guys. It was just too bizarre; No matter what angle you tried to look at it, 'two dimensions' just didn't make sense. You couldn't really say that you hadn't seen **anything** , but... maybe it was a dream? No, your broken phone could attest to that; At the very least you'd have to admit that people shot at you, and you'd dropped your phone on the street. But if you'd blacked out at some point, wouldn't you have at least remembered things fading to black, and not some crazy dream sequence?  
  
Without really realizing it, your gaze shifted to Merch. None of the boys had tried to talk to you since the 'incident', and it only made the situation more unnerving. What if it really hadn't happened? You'd lost sleep over it. Even though your Dad, friends, and even a couple teachers had asked you about it, there was really nothing you could say without sounding insane, and the last thing you wanted was to end up in some asylum because you 'went to a magical land' once.  
  
So instead, this is where you found yourself, lying face down at a corner table in the school library. There were more students than usual, it being so close to Finals, but you didn't let that stop you from semi-publicly wallowing. If it were an anime, you'd be growing mushrooms.  
  
"F/n...?" A timid voice broke through your wall of misery, and you turned your head to see Laura clutching a few textbooks in her pale hands.  
  
"Yeah?" You replied without energy. She set her books down at the table and took a seat.  
  
"You haven't been doing well lately." It wasn't a question. It was a statement.  
  
"I know." You mumbled. "I just... can't sleep."  
  
"Why?" She gently pressed on.  
  
"It's kind of... private." You finished, internally wincing. 'Private' was not a word you'd ever really used with Amy or Laura before. You always told each other everything.  
  
Laura said nothing for a moment, and you couldn't tell if it had hurt her feelings or not, but she eventually spoke. "...Can you... Talk to **anyone** about it?"  
  
Anyone...? You could probably talk to one of the boys, but... weren't they the problem?  
  
"I mean..." Laura continued. "Even if it's not with me or Amy, you should talk to someone." She looked surprisingly stern. "You shouldn't deal with problems alone."  
  
"Laura..." You smiled for the first time in a while. "You're... right. Thank you."  
  
She returned the smile, relaxing visibly. "You're welcome, F/n."  
  
You stood abruptly, mustering up all your courage. "I'm gonna do it!!"  
  
Laura jumped, squeaking in surprise. "Wh-what?"  
  
"I'm taking your advice! I'll text you later!" You rushed out of the library. If you didn't do this now, you might never do it.  
  
All you had to do was find one of the guys, which turned out to be easier said than done. You hunted through the school, awkwardly bursting into rooms and embarrassing yourself because of your sudden burst of bravery, and by the time you'd gotten through about a quarter of the school you suddenly felt silly. You'd been running around aimlessly, probably looking like a crazy person, and if you had to look literally everywhere...  
  
You walked outside, plopping down onto a bench. Maybe it wasn't worth it. When you really considered it, what could you even say? That you'd hallucinated about them? You closed your eyes, heaving a sigh. You were definitely being crazy. You would just have to keep putting-  
  
"What's wrong...?" A voice from your left startled you, and you nearly fell off the bench.  
  
"D-Dory!" The blonde had just appeared next to you, seated on the bench, almost like magic. "What the heck?!?"  
  
"Sorry. You... looked worried, so..." He trailed off, averting his gaze.  
  
"Ah, well... that's..." You stared down at your lap. The whole point of finding one of the guys was to talk about it, right? "I've just been having trouble, lately. With the whole 'Wonderland' thing." When he said nothing, you continued. "I mean, that it's there, but..." You reached a hand out in front of you, grasping at nothing. "...not there."  
  
You sat for a moment like that, Dorian's grey eyes locked to your hand. He surprised you by reaching out and placing his own hand onto yours, and shifting it to the lower left. "Now... you're touching a... flower." He spoke softly, releasing your hand.  
  
You couldn't help but stare at the empty space in front of your hand, remembering the gigantic flora. "A flower..." You repeated.  
  
Dorian stared at the empty space in front of your hand. "I guess at... least if you're crazy... you aren't... the only one."  
  
The sentiment made you smile, then laugh. "I'm not really sure it's better for all four of us to be crazy." Your hand fell to your side again.  
  
"Maybe not... better." He admitted. "But... less lonely."  
  
Less lonely... that was true. Even if you weren't sure **exactly** how you felt about the guys, they wouldn't think you were crazy. They knew it was real.  
  
You turned to Dorian, smiling a lightly. "Thanks, Dory. That... actually helps."  
  
He nodded as his reply, and yawned sleepily, standing from the bench. "I'm glad... but maybe you should... talk to Merch and... Matt, too." He suggested.  
  
"Yeah... maybe..." You stared at your feet. At the very least, it would be good to all be on the same page. "Thanks again, D-" When you looked up, he was gone again. You stared at the empty schoolyard for a moment, before standing.  
  
"I... really hope he doesn't make a habit of that."  
  
~  
You'd been debating on where the best place to find Matt or Merch would be, and when you walked past the Campus Cafe you paused and immediately back-tracked; You had a hunch you could find Matt in the little Cafe. After all, it had seating and tea.  
  
You rushed into the small, casually decorated building, and in your haste accidentally slammed the cafe door open, causing the bells to jingle violently and all patrons except one to turn and stare.  
  
Despite your dramatic entrance, Matt hadn't looked up from his book on the table. Embarrassed, you quickly smoothed out your clothes self-consciously and took a seat opposite him, and after a moment everyone returned to their previous actions.  
  
"Hello, F/n." Matt's eyes never left his book, but he sounded very amused.  
  
"Uh... hi." All your gusto was gone, and as you sat at the table you considered never speaking again, just to avoid the attention.  
  
He surprised you, however, by closing his book and finally looking up at you. "If it's something I can do, I suppose it can't be helped." You gave him a look of confusion, and he smiled warmly in return. "It's obvious something's bothering you. So, what is it?"  
  
You stared into his green eyes for a few seconds before quietly answering. "I just... I still don't know if I can really grasp this whole 'Wonderland' thing..."  
  
"Why not?" He was studying you a bit intently from across the table, and you shifted nervously.  
  
"I mean, it's just so different. I... I know what I saw, but how can it really be possible?" You frowned, looking down at the table.  
  
"Hmm..." Matt took a sip of tea. "Maybe if you think of it in different terms, it'll be easier to grasp."  
  
"Different terms?" That piqued your curiosity.  
  
"Yes, like rather than trying to think of both as the same place, just think of them separately." He had pressed his hands together, then pulled them apart, mimicking a 'separating' motion.  
  
"...Even though it's not true?" Could it really be that easy?  
  
"Reality is only what you make it." He sounded very cheerful, and he opened his book again, flipping through all the pages before seemingly deciding on one. "Nobody can force you to think a certain way."  
  
That was... true. Just because what happened **seemed** crazy, didn't mean it was; Was it just because you weren't used to it that you'd assumed it couldn't be real?  
  
The thought made your head hurt, and instead of thinking on it more you opted to prop your head on an arm and watch Matt read. "You're pretty smart, Matt." You commented offhandedly. You certainly wouldn't have ever thought of things that way.  
  
"You're awfully shameless, aren't you?" He replied, not looking up from his book.  
  
You blinked. "What?"  
  
"Helping others should be thankless, right?" Had it been anyone else who'd said it, you would have taken it as a bitter remark, but... Matt sounded genuine. So you took the question seriously, and thought out your answer.  
  
"It shouldn't be thankless, but... it shouldn't be done with the intention of being thanked." You nodded to yourself, rather proud of how your answer came out.  
  
Evidently your answer had surprised Matt, because those beautiful emerald eyes were locked onto your own e/c ones. He almost looked a little lost for a moment, but then smiled, closing his book and standing up.  
  
"You know, it'd be nice if we spent more time together." He said it with such sincerity that it left you baffled. He turned and headed out of the Cafe, pausing at the door. "Well? Are you coming?"  
  
"Wh... what? Coming where?" You were still a little flabbergasted by his comment, but you didn't remember agreeing to go anywhere with him.  
  
"We're going to see Merch, right?" He replied as though it were clearly obvious and saying anything otherwise would be stupid, so you stood obediently and followed after him.  
  
"Uh, y-yeah." You stammered out, and he laughed softly, leading the way.  
  
As you followed, something suddenly dawned on you.  
  
_Did I just think he had beautiful eyes?!?_  
  
~  
  
As you followed Matt, you realized that he was bringing you to the Study Hall; Of course, that would have been the obvious place to look for Merch. You had noticed that after he had begun going to your school he became oddly obsessed with his grades, despite the fact that he probably wouldn't continue his schooling.  
  
You hadn't noticed that Matt had slowed his pace, letting you continue your own brisk one ahead of him. Before you could stop yourself, for the second time today you threw open doors, this time to the Study Hall, shattering the silence of the studying students.  
  
Twenty pairs of eyes stared at you in bewilderment, but when your own connected with hazel, you rather loudly said one thing.  
  
"Merch."  
  
There was dead silence as every pair of eyes drifted over to the brunette, and you could see his eyes widen in horror at the realization.  
  
You could hear Matt quietly snickering from the hallway, standing out of view.  
  
Merch abruptly stood from the desk he sat at, dropping his pen in the process, and stormed over to you, grabbing your arm and dragging you back into the hallway. Matt helpfully closed the doors, and Merch wheeled to face you, looking thoroughly irritated. "What the hell, seriously?!?"  
  
"I needed to talk to you!" It came out more desperate than you'd intended, but you stuck with it.  
  
"At this exact second?" He retorted, and you suddenly felt a little stupid.  
  
"I..." You couldn't think of how to finish the sentence, and glanced over at Matt. He said nothing, but Merch followed your gaze to the ravenette, then it fell back on you.  
  
He sighed. "C'mon." You looked back at him and noticed he'd begun walking away. When he realized you weren't following him, he repeated himself, this time motioning his hand.  
  
You turned to Matt, about to ask if he was coming, too, but he cut you off.  
  
"You two play nicely, okay? I've got something I need to take care of." He tipped his hat politely, and turned, going the opposite way of you and Merch.  
  
You followed silently after Merch, and eventually the two of you ended up back outside, in a relatively empty area. You sat on a nearby bench, and he followed suit.  
  
"So?" He was looking at you, and you felt a little pressured. "What did you need to talk about?"  
  
You nervously fiddled with your fingers. "It's just... I mean..." He waited, saying nothing, and eventually you spat it out. "I kind of feel like I went crazy."  
  
There was silence, and you immediately felt a little stupid.  
  
"... Because of the whole 'Wonderland' thing, right?" Although it had been a question, he clearly knew the answer. You nodded mutely. "I... actually sort of understand that feeling." He admitted, and your attention returned to him.  
  
"What? R-really?"  
  
"Yeah. I mean, 'Wonderland' is my home, right? So when I first came here..." He trailed off, scratching the back of his head. "But, I guess I was older than you when I experienced it. Look..." He had a certain resolve about him as he turned to fully face you. "I understand grasping this whole thing is tough, but..." He stood up, and held out a hand to help you up. "You'll be safe, I promise."  
  
For a second, your heart skipped a beat as you took his hand, staring into his hazel eyes. Then...  
  
"...Older than me? You'd barely pass for a month older than me." You couldn't help but open your big mouth and ruin the moment. Though his expression didn't change, he jerked your hand hard, making you almost stumble off the sidewalk and into a patch of flowers.  
  
You laughed as he stormed back to the Study Hall, shouting behind him "THAT'S THE LAST TIME I TRY AND HELP YOU, YOU IDIOT!"  
  
Then again, that older-looking Merch you'd seen...  
  
_... Maybe I should be nicer to him if he grows up to be hot..._


	11. ♦9

After a more or less average day of classes, you found yourself lagging a little behind the few classmates that rushed to the buses; It was tryouts day for Extracurricular Activities, and the majority of students were busy attempting to join various clubs and teams for next year. Laura was obviously trying out for the Arts Club, and Amy was trying out for Debate, leaving you to wander over to the buses alone for a quiet ride home.  
  
It wasn't that you weren't used to a certain level of solitude; After all, your Dad had to work quite a bit to help pay for your home, food, and other luxuries, and so you'd often find yourself home alone. While you could always find something or other to occupy your time, you couldn't deny that after a while you'd start to feel pretty lonely.  
  
You sighed aloud, gripping your schoolbag tight. _Just another day... although..._ you paused at the doors before exiting the school, turning around. _Maybe I could just hang out with someone for a bit, and watch tryouts..._ After all, it shouldn't be too hard to find them.  
  
You knew for a fact that Merch and Dorian were trying out for something, and maybe Matt was waiting around for them to finish up somewhere. At the very least, it would be better than going home to sit alone in your room, reading Manga. You turned and walked back to the school bulletin board, looking at the Club flyers pinned to it.  
  
_**Alright, which Club activity should I check out?**_

A) Track and Field. **[Advance to ♦10 The March Hare]**  
B) Arts Club. **[Advance to ♦10 The Dormouse]**  
C) Unsure. **[Advance to ♦10 The Mad Hatter]**


	12. ♦10 The March Hare

After some thought, you decided to go check out the Track and Field Club; You'd always kind of wanted to join a sports club at your school, but every time you got close to applying for a spot, you'd chicken out. After all, there were a lot of athletic students at your school, and you honestly didn't want to look stupid in front of them.  
  
_Even so... is Merch **actually** going to try out? _He didn't really strike you as the type to enjoy school activities, but then again, it wasn't like you really knew him that well yet.__  
  
You headed down the mostly-empty halls to the back of the school, and opened the double-doors that led to the schoolyard, enjoying the warm summery breeze that accompanied the action. You could already see groups of students stretching, as well as the Captains of the Track and Field team testing students.  
  
To your surprise, Merch actually **was** out on the field. He stood amongst the other students in their gym uniforms, stretching and preparing for the tryout. As you got closer to the field, you noticed a small crowd of girls had gathered nearby, chatting quietly and giggling among themselves. You passed by them, and caught a bit of their conversation.  
  
"I can't believe you were right!"  
  
"It's so cute!"  
  
"I know! I mean, I only noticed it recently."  
  
"Do you... think that they're dating?"  
  
"Oh my gosh, could you imagine?!?"  
  
You paused, surveying the field before turning to the girls. "Ah... who are you talking about?" They hadn't looked over at you until you spoke, so clearly it hadn't been you, and while you didn't keep track of all the couples in the school, you had never seen any girls "group chat" about anyone dating.  
  
One of them glanced at you, and quickly spoke. "We're talking about **them** , of course!"  
  
She pointed to someone you hadn't seen seated in the bleachers, leaned back against the row behind him and reading a book.  
  
"...Matt...?"  
  
"Yeah, and Henry Merch!" Another girl excitedly supplied, and your brain rolled to a stop.  
  
_Matt... and Merch... dating..._  
  
When you really thought about it, you hadn't asked either boy if they were somehow involved with each other. Sure, they seemed close, but you were pretty close with **your** friends, too.  
  
You made your way over to Matt, and called out to him. "Hey, Matt! I didn't expect to see you here."  
  
When you sat next to him on the bleachers, he finally replied. "I could say the same. You didn't try out for a club?"  
  
"No." You frowned at him. "We talked about that."  
  
"Did we?" If he really **had** forgotten, he clearly made no effort to remember. You sighed to yourself, and looked out at the field at Merch again.  
  
"Y'know, I'm kind of surprised he tried out for something." Your rested your head in your hands, and listened to Matt flip a page in his book.  
  
"Oh, Henry likes this sort of thing."  
  
"Really?" The Track captain blew her whistle, and everyone gathered around her. "I guess that makes sense." After all, he seemed pretty physically fit.  
  
You watched as the tests began, and to your amazement Merch was acing every single one of them; He clearly took the entire thing seriously. You turned to Matt to make note of Merch's physical capability, only to see that he still hadn't looked up from his book.  
  
"M-Matt, what's the point of being here if you aren't even going to watch him?" You pulled the book down from his face, making sure you had his full attention. He gave you a mildly irritated look, before setting the book down on his lap.  
  
"I don't need to watch him. He's doing very well."  
  
"Yeah, but..." You frowned to yourself, looking back out at the field.  
  
"Are you worried he'll feel bad?" You didn't answer for a moment, and this clearly intrigued Matt; He closed the book on his lap, a smile playing on his face as he stared at you expectantly.  
  
"W-well, that's... I mean, you know..." You shifted uncomfortably. _Am I actually starting to consider Merch a friend?!?_  
  
After watching you squirm, Matt laughed and leaned back against the bleacher seats, opening his book again. "He knows how I feel. I don't need to shove it in his face."  
  
_How he feels..._ You glanced away from the winding-down track meet, and towards the group of girls that were now likely gossiping about **you** being part of a relationship with the two boys, and the thought made your stomach twist nervously.  
  
"Hey, Matt, can I ask you something?"  
  
"You already did." He commented casually. You'd heard that one so many times that it actually seemed to calm your nerves a little, and with a quick burst of bravery, you spat out your question.  
  
"Are you and Merch... you know, dating?"  
  
Silence.  
  
Matt didn't even move an inch, and you could tell he'd stopped reading. You began to panic, trying to think of something to say, when he suddenly burst out laughing, dropping his book to his lap. Now, it was your turn to be frozen, though mostly in embarrassment.  
  
"Oh, you guys are... what's so funny?" Merch had approached the two of you, using a gym towel to wipe the sweat from his neck.  
  
"I-It's noth-"  
  
"Oh, I'm glad you're done!" Matt cut you off, his laughter finally dying down. "I was getting bored until F/n came along."  
  
You remained silent, your face probably red as a tomato. Merch looked between you and Matt with clear confusion. "Uh... okay..."  
  
Matt picked up his book in one hand, standing from the bleachers and stepping down to meet Merch, and you slowly did the same, shooting a glare over at the group of girls. After all, this was technically **their** fault, wasn't it? Noticing your look, Matt followed it, and then something terrifying happened: He smiled. It wasn't a normal smile, though; it was the kind of smile that a cartoon cat would get just before it ate a bird.  
  
He turned back to Merch, who was picking his gym bag off the ground. "So, why did you come to watch?" Merch had directed the question at you, and you were so distracted by Matt's odd behavior that it took you a minute to think of an answer.  
  
"I wanted to-"  
  
As Merch stood fully, Matt leaned down slightly to match his height, and in a swift, smooth motion kissed him on the cheek.  
  
You could hear the group of girls burst out in coos and giggles, and your own brain stopped functioning for a second. At first, Merch looked completely unaffected by the action. Almost as if suddenly realizing what had happened, his face became red and he turned to Matt, swinging to smack him on the arm only to miss when Matt stepped away, laughing.  
  
"Dammit, Matt!!! What the hell are you doing?!?"  
  
"Huh? Are you really so upset?" Matt replied, cheerfully dodging the towel Merch threw at him.  
  
"What do you think?!?" Merch shouted back at him, looking thoroughly irritated.  
  
"So... you guys **are** dating?"  
  
Both of them paused, turning to stare at you. Matt began laughing again, and Merch sighed heavily, picking his towel up off the ground. "No, we're not." He then affixed you with a piercing gaze. "Where did you get that idea?"  
  
"Uh... well..." You habitually glanced over at the girls, and then back at Merch. Having caught the action, he glared past you for a moment, and out of the corner of your eye you could see the group scurry off.  
  
"Don't believe everything you hear." Merch grabbed his gym bag, and began walking past you. Matt followed behind him, seeming completely cheerful, and you followed suit.  
  
"I don't." You replied, feeling a little insulted at the implication. "I asked Matt."  
  
There was a pause, and then Merch spoke again. "Don't believe Matt, either."  
  
"Hey." Matt sounded mildly insulted.  
  
"Ever." Merch added as the three of you entered the school.  
  
~  
  
When you finally arrived home, you collapsed on the sofa, completely exhausted. Although you spent a lot of time with Laura and Amy, something about hanging out with the boys always seemed to make you tired.  
  
Despite everything crazy that had been happening lately, today had been so surprisingly normal that it felt weird; On top of that, you couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.  
  
You ignored the feeling, instead standing and turning on the TV, finding your favorite anime program and heading to the kitchen to make dinner.  
  
You couldn't spend your whole life worrying about bad feelings, after all.

  
**[Advance to ♦11]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you may (or may not) have noticed, two character choices are very similar to one another; This is my way of kind of introducing an interesting mechanic to the story: Options that will involve two characters at once.  
> While the story progresses, you will notice a new option appearing that will allow you to choose to spend time with two characters at the same time. These options will show up separately from choosing a single character from now on, and depending on the situation, may not always be available.  
> That said, these options are exclusive to the three "Tea Party" boys: Merch, Matt, and Dorian, and two other characters that will be introduced (eventually) in the story.  
> These options, like the other dating options, won't actually effect the main story line; They're purely for people who might have difficulty picking one character, or just want to form a different kind of relationship.  
> So, enjoy!


	13. ♦10 The Dormouse

You decided the Arts Club would be the closest room to check out, and remembering what Matt had said about Merch and Dorian joining clubs, expected to find Dorian there.  
  
When you peeked through the open door at the crowd of students gathered, you couldn't see Dorian; You did, however, find Laura. Sneaking in to the group of people, you poked her on the shoulder, startling her.  
  
"O-Oh!! F/n!! What are you doing here?"  
  
"I came to check out the Art club tryouts! Uh... did you see Dorian anywhere?" You asked her somewhat shamefully; Even though she'd told you and Amy many times that she'd rather you didn't come watch her try out, you still felt bad coming to see Dorian, and not her.  
  
She looked a little relieved that you were asking about Dorian, though. "Oh, I think he's in the Music room, actually." She replied.  
  
"Okay, got it." You paused. " Hey, are you sure you don't want me to stay and watch you?"  
  
Her eyes widened, and she shook her head vehemently at first before slowing down, realizing that her immediate refusal might have seemed rude. "N-no, I'd really rather you not! I think... it would be too hard to concentrate knowing that you were watching."  
  
"C'mon, I'm not that bad an audience." You laughed sheepishly, and she smiled.  
  
"I know. I just... get very nervous competing." She fiddled her fingers, and you finally gave in.  
  
"Well, let me know how it turns out, then!" you gave her a hug, which she returned happily. "Good luck!"  
  
"Thank you!" She called back to you as you exited the Art room.  
  
_Now, where was the Music room, again?_ You frowned to yourself, walking a little aimlessly down the hallway. You didn't often go to the music room; Something about performing in front of groups of people always made you feel nervous, and so you'd never really tried out for any kind of theatrical or artsy classes.  
  
As you walked down the mostly empty hallway, you could hear the faint sound of a music playing, so followed it. Sure enough, the sound was coming from the Music room, and as you opened the door and stepped into the room you instantly regretted it.  
  
The various students were all tuning their instruments, and the noise was an audial assault on your ears. Flinching, you backed out the door and into the hallway.  
  
"Holy..." You pulled your hands away from your ears, and waited for the ringing noise to go away. "How the heck do they get used to that?" You frowned to yourself, and peeked through the door window. No sign of Dorian. _Maybe he decided not to join, after all._ But, that wouldn't make sense; Laura had told you he was trying out for the Club.  
  
You stood in the hallway, wondering what to do, when you heard a different, far more pleasant sounding noise. You followed it to a nearby practice room and realized it was a piano melody. When you peeked into the window, you were surprised to see Dorian seated at a piano, facing away from the door and playing the muffled music you could hear leaking through it. You opened the door as quietly as possible, so you wouldn't disturb him, and slipped into the room.  
  
You stood silently for a moment, listening to the beautiful melody, before Dorian paused playing. "Did... you need something?"  
  
"Oh! Uh, no, not really." You were surprised that he had noticed you, but quickly recovered. "I just wanted to see how you were doing at your tryouts. Shouldn't you be in the Music room with the others?" You approached the piano, standing at its side.  
  
Dorian was staring out the window at the clouds in the sky, his fingers resting gently on the keys. "No. I... decided I didn't... want to try out."  
  
"No?" You decided to sit down in the spare chair near the window, and watched as he began playing again, closing his eyes.  
  
"Nope." He replied simply. "It seemed... like... a lot of work."  
  
You laughed. "That's kind of like what Matt said."  
  
"Sounds about... right." You watched with curiosity as he continued to play without opening his eyes.  
  
"Hey, how are you doing that?"  
  
"...doing what?"  
  
You furrowed your brows. "Playing without looking at the keys."  
  
He opened his eyes and looked down at the keys, as if he didn't even realize looking at them was necessary. "I guess... I just got... used to playing it that... way."  
  
"It's kind of amazing, actually." You scooted your chair closer to the piano, and watched with fascination as Dorian played, this time seeming to look through the keys rather than at them. "You're good at this!"  
  
"Not really." He answered, sounding disinterested. "I'm average, at... best."  
  
You laughed a little, and reached out, poking a key lightly. "Better than I could do, at least."  
  
Dorian laughed, and scooted over on the piano bench, and you accepted the silent invitation to sit next to him, making sure you didn't sit too close.  
  
"It's all... just practice. Anybody... can be... good at anything if they... practice."  
  
You listened to him playing, mulling over the words. You thought about yourself, and Dorian's speech; Was it worse than this at some point? Did he have to practice a lot to get better?  
  
"Things will... always improve, if you... try hard enough."  
  
It was a little like he had predicted what you were thinking, and you blushed with embarrassment, looking away from the piano and to the window to hide it. He stopped playing, sighing to himself, and stood from the piano bench.  
  
"Well, that's... enough of that. I'm... going to find... Merch and Matt." He extended a hand to you, though wouldn't make eye contact, as usual. You took it, and stood as well. "Do you... want to come, too..?"  
  
After a moment of thought, you nodded, and followed after him as he left the Practice Room.  
  
~  
You had spent a little time with the boys while you waited for the bus, and after going your separate ways, rode home alone. When you finally arrived at home, you collapsed on the sofa, completely exhausted. Although you spent a lot of time with Laura and Amy, something about hanging out with the boys always seemed to make you tired.  
  
Despite everything crazy that had been happening lately, today had been so surprisingly normal that it felt weird; On top of that, you couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.  
  
You ignored the feeling, instead standing and turning on the TV, finding your favorite anime program and heading to the kitchen to make dinner.  
  
You couldn't spend your whole life worrying about bad feelings, after all.

  
**[Advance to ♦11]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you may (or may not) have noticed, **two** character choices are very similar to one another (Specifically, ♦10 The March Hare and the Mad Hatter); This is my way of kind of introducing an interesting mechanic to the story: Options that will involve **two** characters at once.  
>  While the story progresses, you will notice a new option appearing that will allow you to choose to spend time with two characters at the same time. These options will show up **separately** from choosing a single character from now on, and depending on the situation, may not always be available.  
>  That said, these options are exclusive to the three "Tea Party" boys: Merch, Matt, and Dorian, and two other characters that will be introduced (eventually) in the story.  
> These options, like the other dating options, won't actually effect the main story line; They're purely for people who might have difficulty picking one character, or just want to form a different kind of relationship.  
> So, enjoy!]


	14. ♦10 The Mad Hatter

Even after thinking about it, you weren't really sure where you should go, and instead decided to wander around until you could make a decision.  
  
You couldn't help but wonder what Matt was doing right now, since both Dorian and Merch were otherwise occupied. You never really saw him anywhere the other two weren't; If they were on the school grounds, he was on the school grounds. If they were going somewhere after school, he always seemed to be with one of them. _Maybe he's bored, too._  
  
You headed down the mostly-empty halls to the back of the school, and opened the double-doors that led to the schoolyard, enjoying the warm summery breeze that accompanied the action. You could see groups of students stretching, and realized you'd wandered out to the Track and Field tryouts.  
  
To your surprise, Merch actually **was** out on the field. He stood amongst the other students in their gym uniforms, stretching and preparing for the tryout. As you got closer to the field, you noticed a small crowd of girls had gathered nearby, chatting quietly and giggling among themselves. You passed by them, and caught a bit of their conversation.  
  
"I can't believe you were right!"  
  
"It's so cute!"  
  
"I know! I mean, I only noticed it recently."  
  
"Do you... think that they're dating?"  
  
"Oh my gosh, could you imagine?!?"  
  
You paused, surveying the field before turning to the girls. "Ah... who are you talking about?" They hadn't looked over at you until you spoke, so clearly it hadn't been you, and while you didn't keep track of all the couples in the school, you had never seen any girls "group chat" about anyone dating.  
  
One of them glanced at you, and quickly spoke. "We're talking about **them** , of course!"  
  
She pointed to someone you hadn't seen seated in the bleachers, leaned back against the row behind him and reading a book.  
  
"...Matt...?"  
  
"Yeah, and Henry Merch!" Another girl excitedly supplied, and your brain rolled to a stop.  
  
_Matt... and Merch... dating..._  
  
When you really thought about it, you hadn't asked either boy if they were somehow involved with each other. Sure, they seemed close, but you were pretty close with **your** friends, too.  
  
You made your way over to Matt, and called out to him. "Hey, Matt! I didn't expect to see you here."  
  
When you sat next to him on the bleachers, he finally replied. "I could say the same. You didn't try out for a club?"  
  
"No." You frowned at him. "We talked about that."  
  
"Did we?" If he really **had** forgotten, he clearly made no effort to remember. You sighed to yourself, and looked out at the field at Merch again.  
  
"Y'know, I'm kind of surprised he tried out for something." Your rested your head in your hands, and listened to Matt flip a page in his book.  
  
"Oh, Henry likes this sort of thing."  
  
"Really?" The Track captain blew her whistle, and everyone gathered around her. "I guess that makes sense." After all, he seemed pretty physically fit.  
  
You watched as the tests began, and to your amazement Merch was acing every single one of them; He clearly took the entire thing seriously. You turned to Matt to make note of Merch's physical capability, only to see that he still hadn't looked up from his book.  
  
"M-Matt, what's the point of being here if you aren't even going to watch him?" You pulled the book down from his face, making sure you had his full attention. He gave you a mildly irritated look, before setting the book down on his lap.  
  
"I don't need to watch him. He's doing very well."  
  
"Yeah, but..." You frowned to yourself, looking back out at the field.  
  
"Are you worried he'll feel bad?" You didn't answer for a moment, and this clearly intrigued Matt; He closed the book on his lap, a smile playing on his face as he stared at you expectantly.  
  
"W-well, that's... I mean, you know..." You shifted uncomfortably. _Am I actually starting to consider Merch a friend?!?_  
  
After watching you squirm, Matt laughed and leaned back against the bleacher seats, opening his book again. "He knows how I feel. I don't need to shove it in his face."  
  
_How he feels..._ You glanced away from the winding-down track meet, and towards the group of girls that were now likely gossiping about **you** being part of a relationship with the two boys, and the thought made your stomach twist nervously.  
  
"Hey, Matt, can I ask you something?"  
  
"You already did." He commented casually. You'd heard that one so many times that it actually seemed to calm your nerves a little, and with a quick burst of bravery, you spat out your question.  
  
"Are you and Merch... you know, dating?"  
  
Silence.  
  
Matt didn't even move an inch, and you could tell he'd stopped reading. You began to panic, trying to think of something to say, when he suddenly burst out laughing, dropping his book to his lap. Now, it was your turn to be frozen, though mostly in embarrassment.  
  
"Oh, you guys are... what's so funny?" Merch had approached the two of you, using a gym towel to wipe the sweat from his neck.  
  
"I-It's noth-"  
  
"Oh, I'm glad you're done!" Matt cut you off, his laughter finally dying down. "I was getting bored until F/n came along."  
  
You remained silent, your face probably red as a tomato. Merch looked between you and Matt with clear confusion. "Uh... okay..."  
  
Matt picked up his book in one hand, standing from the bleachers and stepping down to meet Merch, and you slowly did the same, shooting a glare over at the group of girls. After all, this was technically **their** fault, wasn't it? Noticing your look, Matt followed it, and then something terrifying happened: He smiled. It wasn't a normal smile, though; it was the kind of smile that a cartoon cat would get just before it ate a bird.  
  
He turned back to Merch, who was picking his gym bag off the ground. "So, why did you come to watch?" Merch had directed the question at you, and you were so distracted by Matt's odd behavior that it took you a minute to think of an answer.  
  
"I wanted to-"  
  
As Merch stood fully, Matt leaned down slightly to match his height, and in a swift, smooth motion kissed him on the cheek.  
  
You could hear the group of girls burst out in coos and giggles, and your own brain stopped functioning for a second. At first, Merch looked completely unaffected by the action. Almost as if suddenly realizing what had happened, his face became red and he turned to Matt, swinging to smack him on the arm only to miss when Matt stepped away, laughing.  
  
"Dammit, Matt!!! What the hell are you doing?!?"  
  
"Huh? Are you really so upset?" Matt replied, cheerfully dodging the towel Merch threw at him.  
  
"What do you think?!?" Merch shouted back at him, looking thoroughly irritated.  
  
"So... you guys **are** dating?"  
  
Both of them paused, turning to stare at you. Matt began laughing again, and Merch sighed heavily, picking his towel up off the ground. "No, we're not." He then affixed you with a piercing gaze. "Where did you get that idea?"  
  
"Uh... well..." You habitually glanced over at the girls, and then back at Merch. Having caught the action, he glared past you for a moment, and out of the corner of your eye you could see the group scurry off.  
  
"Don't believe everything you hear." Merch grabbed his gym bag, and began walking past you. Matt followed behind him, seeming completely cheerful, and you followed suit.  
  
"I don't." You replied, feeling a little insulted at the implication. "I asked Matt."  
  
There was a pause, and then Merch spoke again. "Don't believe Matt, either."  
  
"Hey." Matt sounded mildly insulted.  
  
"Ever." Merch added as the three of you entered the school.  
  
~  
  
When you finally arrived home, you collapsed on the sofa, completely exhausted. Although you spent a lot of time with Laura and Amy, something about hanging out with the boys always seemed to make you tired.  
  
Despite everything crazy that had been happening lately, today had been so surprisingly normal that it felt weird; On top of that, you couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.  
  
You ignored the feeling, instead standing and turning on the TV, finding your favorite anime program and heading to the kitchen to make dinner.  
  
You couldn't spend your whole life worrying about bad feelings, after all.

  
**[Advance to ♦11]**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you may (or may not) have noticed, **two** character choices are very similar to one another; This is my way of kind of introducing an interesting mechanic to the story: Options that will involve **two** characters at once.  
>  While the story progresses, you will notice a new option appearing that will allow you to choose to spend time with two characters at the same time. These options will show up **separately** from choosing a single character from now on, and depending on the situation, may not always be available.  
>  That said, these options are exclusive to the three "Tea Party" boys: Merch, Matt, and Dorian, and two other characters that will be introduced (eventually) in the story.  
> These options, like the other dating options, won't actually effect the main story line; They're purely for people who might have difficulty picking one character, or just want to form a different kind of relationship.  
> So, enjoy!


	15. ♦11

It was almost a tradition to go out with Laura and Amy on the weekend; Sometimes you'd just get lunch somewhere, but more often than not the three of you would go to the mall and putter around, you and Laura mostly looking at things, while Amy would occasionally purchase something. Even though the three of you had done this since you were young, you could never help but feel a little like it was because they knew that if you didn't go out with them, you'd be spending your weekend alone.  
  
Regardless, you still loved going out on your little outings with your two friends. Even if it was out of some kind of pity, you didn't mind.  
  
"Ooh!!! Look at that!" Amy had rushed ahead of you and Laura, sliding to a stop on the polished white floor of the mall in front of a shop window.  
  
She was looking up at a mannequin wearing an (admittedly) cute dress, her eyes practically sparkling. "It's so cute!! I have to try it on!" Without even asking you and Laura, she was already inside the expensive shop.  
  
The two of you followed behind her, feeling incredibly out of place as she asked one of the women working at the shop about the dress. When the woman left, she bounced on her heels a little, clearly excited. "I hope it looks good on me!"  
  
Laura laughed softly. "I'm sure it will, Amy. You look good in basically anything."  
  
"Aww! You're so sweet!" Amy grabbed Laura and hugged her tightly, causing the latter to blush and protest immediately.  
  
"A-Amy!! Please!!"  
  
You glanced over at a rack next to you, casually looking at the clothing while Laura and Amy spoke. Noticing a price tag, you lifted it, and immediately choked a little.  
  
"O-One hundred and fifty dollars?!?" You gasped out, quickly covering your mouth when you realized you'd said it a little loudly.  
  
"Yeah, but it's really exclusive stuff!" Amy explained matter-of-factly, releasing Laura from her death grip. "Besides, things like this should be worn at fancy events." She searched through the same rack as you, nodding to herself.  
  
You furrowed your brows and pulled out a pair of jeans clipped to a hanger. "Fancy events where you can wear jeans?"  
  
She stared at the jeans blankly for a second before giggling to herself, turning back to the rack. "Well, okay, some of it is kinda pointlessly expensive." She pulled a nicely-pressed black cape off the rack, and slung it over her arm. "But that's why I just don't buy those ones!"  
  
The clerk had returned with the dress, and after taking the cape from Amy, led her to the changing rooms in the back. On her way back, she showed you and Laura to a sitting area where you could wait for Amy to finish, which you thanked her for before taking a seat in one of the plush leather chairs.  
  
"...Do you ever wish you could afford these kinds of things?" Laura asked you, eyeing the racks around her.  
  
You stared at the racks too, thoughtfully. You'd always wondered what it would be like to be from a family with a lot of money; you weren't really sure your habits would change, but you could afford a lot more. Nicer clothes, new anime... more time with your Dad. "Sometimes."  
  
Laura nodded. "Me, too."  
  
"Then again, knowing me, I'd probably just accidentally wreck them anyways." You internally grimaced, thinking back to a paint fiasco from a few weeks ago.  
  
Laura laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. "Me, too! My mom's always upset with me about spilling paint everywhere."  
  
You chuckled at your similarities, and lazily looked around the store. There weren't a lot of other people in the particular shop, so it wasn't any wonder that one in particular caught your eye.  
  
A man who looked to be in his mid-twenties stood at the counter, speaking to one of the clerks. He was wearing black dress pants, and a black casual dress shirt with purple embellishments. From the angle you sat at, you could see his face fairly clearly; His hair was cobalt in color (it definitely had to be dyed), and he had dark azure colored eyes, and surprisingly enough, a tattoo trailing off the side of his left eye. It looked like a simple tribal-style tattoo of a butterfly wing, with a light turquoise color highlighting the inside of it.  
  
You were a little thrown off to see a tattoo in such an interesting place, and for a moment you'd forgotten you were talking to Laura until she poked you gently, causing you to jump.  
  
"Woah! S-sorry!" She apologized, and you quickly brushed it off.  
  
"N-no, it's okay. Sorry, I was just a little distracted."  
  
She looked past you at the man, and after a moment looked back at you. "I... see what you mean."  
  
"I think the tattoo just threw me off. He looks like he'd be shopping here, otherwise." You supplied, looking back over at the changing room Amy had vanished into.  
  
Laura was silent for a moment. "... He chose good colors, though."  
  
You grinned, turning back to her. "Ooh, do you like him?"  
  
She blushed and shook her head vehemently. "N-no!! Of course n-not!! I don't e-even know him!"  
  
You laughed at her, playfully poking her arm. "I'm just kidding. But hey, maybe in a few years..." You left the suggestion open-ended, and she whined, burying her face in her hands.  
  
Before you could say anymore, the door to the change room Amy had been in burst open, and she pranced out, looking incredibly pleased with herself.  
  
"Well, what do you think?"  
  
You had to admit, she looked really pretty in the dress. "It look great on you, Amy!"  
  
Laura admired it for a moment, then stood, setting her bag down on the chair she'd been sitting on. She walked around Amy, taking in all the details of the dress, then smiled. "It does look really nice!"  
  
Amy turned to face her, folding her arms and smiling. "But...?"  
  
"Well..." Laura frowned a little, and knelt next to Amy, turning up bottom of the dress slightly. "This one's a little... ragged."  
  
You stood too, getting a good look at the dress; Indeed, the edges were a little worn out and starting to fray. You whistled low, gently tugging on one of the loose strings. "Good catch, Laura."  
  
"Haa... I knew it." Amy sighed. "Well, I'll ask the clerk if she's got any newer ones in the back. Is it okay otherwise?" You and Laura both nodded, and Amy's smile returned. "Perfect! I'll be right back, then!"  
  
You wandered back to your chair and flopped over in it, glancing back over at the counter for the man that had been there earlier; Unfortunately, he was gone.  
  
"Alright, lets go!" You were startled to see Amy already out of the change room, both items slung over her arm.  
  
"W-what?!? But it took you so long to put it on!" You exclaimed, standing and following her to the counter.  
  
"Of course! Putting things on and taking them off are completely different!" She laughed cheerfully.  
  
No matter how many times she'd done this sort of thing, you'd always be shocked by it.  
  
~  
  
After a full day of shopping and a Food Court lunch, you waited with Amy and Laura by their bus stop as the evening sun began to set, talking about the various people you'd seen at the mall.  
  
"Y'know, you should really just come stay over tonight." Amy interrupted the conversation, looking at you seriously.  
  
"Huh? Why?" You were confused by the sudden change in tone.  
  
"Well, it's just..." She trailed off, looking down at her bags. "Last time, we didn't hear anything from you until really late... your Dad even said you still weren't home until late." She seemed to strengthen her resolve, and looked up at you. "I'd just feel better if I could at least see you home!"  
  
"Amy..."  
  
"I... I'd feel better about that too, F/n." Laura quietly added, and you suddenly felt overwhelmed by guilt.  
  
When the boys had shown up in your life, you'd found yourself involved in a lot of bizarre situations, none of which involved Amy and Laura. You'd been keeping secrets from them, and spending more time with your new friends, it was no wonder they might start to feel left out and worried.  
  
"I'm... really sorry, you guys." You leaned forward and caught them both in a hug, which they returned. "I've just had a bit of a crazy month. But, it's all good now!" You leaned back, smiling at them. "Things'll be normal from now on! No more freaking you guys out!"  
  
"Do you promise?" Amy asked, looking at you pleadingly.  
  
"I promise." You affirmed.  
  
Both girls smiled, and Amy let out a dramatic, long-suffering sigh. "Well, I guess I have no choice, then! But!" She pointed a finger in your face, and you playfully pretended to try and bite it. "Any more shenanigans like that, and I'm gonna get a tracker planted in you when you're not looking!"  
  
"You would, too." You blanched a little, and Laura laughed as Amy smacked you playfully.  
  
When their bus pulled up, the two boarded after saying goodbye, and once the bus had driven away you sighed, and headed to your own bus stop.  
  
The evening sun painted everything in gold and orange tones, and although it was getting late there was still quite a few people rushing around, likely heading home for dinner or doing last-minute shopping. In a way, the setting sort of reminded you of the night after the Fair, when you'd gone to Wonderland. Your hand instinctively tightened around your phone at the thought, and you had to take a deep breath and exhale slowly to calm your heart. Even though you knew it wouldn't happen again, being shot at had been a terrifying experience; part of you could swear it heard the sound of the bullets whistling through the air, and the sound of the men that had been chasing you down collapsing to the ground, dead.  
  
"But..." You steeled yourself from the emotions, swallowing them down. "I'm gonna be okay." _After all, Merch had promised me that much._ You frowned to yourself, wondering why you placed so much importance on a promise.  
  
You sat at the bus stop, and waited for your bus to come; You lived a little further away than Laura and Amy, and around this time of day it was usually just you and a couple other people that would board the bus. As you waited, you wondered to yourself what you'd make for dinner, eventually deciding that your Dad would likely be late, and so you'd make something he could easily heat up.  
  
"Mmm, you know, I really don't think she's gotten any better at being aware of her surroundings." A voice from behind startled you, and you jumped into a standing position, spinning around.  
  
"Wh-what?!?"  
  
Matt was leaned against the back of the bench you had been sitting on, smiling up at you. A little ways behind him, Dorian was leaned against the bus stop signpost, his eyes half-closed and looking more asleep than awake.  
  
"Hello!" Matt cheerfully replied to you, not moving from his position.  
  
"What the heck are you two doing here?!? You almost gave me a heart attack!" You sighed, going lax.  
  
"Nothing, particularly." Matt adopted a disinterested look, walking around the side of the bench and taking a seat. "We happened to be here, and noticed you sitting alone."  
  
Dorian said nothing, and you frowned to yourself. "Okaay... Well, I mean, I'm just waiting for a bus, so..." You trailed off.  
  
"I would hope so. It would be strange otherwise." Matt smiled pleasantly at you.  
  
"Are... you guys waiting for a bus?"  
  
"No."  
  
A silence fell between the two of you, Matt clearly not catching the contradiction in his own statements. You finally sat down again, sighing. "So, were you guys just shopping, too?"  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"No."  
  
You got two different answers from them both; Apparently, Dorian thought they were shopping, but Matt didn't. You folded your arms and closed your eyes, your frown deepening. "Look, it's not that it's not nice to see you two, and all, but..." You opened your eyes and leaned back against the bench. "Why exactly are you here?"  
  
"Well, Henry told us to-" Matt began to talk, but was promptly cut off by Dorian.  
  
"-We were... just making sure you... were okay." Dorian spoke firmly, looking over at you.  
  
"What do you mean?" You looked around, worry beginning to fill you. Were there more of those people that had attacked you around?  
  
Matt looked a little petulant at being interrupted, and said absolutely nothing, so Dorian continued. "We heard that... there might be an... attack... today." He didn't seem to worried, and so you relaxed a little. "Merch is... looking... into it."  
  
"Oh..." You stared down at your shoes, unsure what to say. Were they only here because of Merch's promise? They would have been helping him out otherwise. You felt... selfish. "Uh, well, I mean, I'll be fine, you guys. After all, I'm gonna be on bus with other people, and then I'm only a couple blocks from home! It won't be a-" The sound of your (recently repaired) phone cut you off, and you paused, pulling it out and checking it.  
  
You'd gotten a notification from one of your 'followed' accounts, the city bus lines. Your face blanched as you read the post. ' _...Bus stop number 42 will be suspended for three hours due to an accident..._ ' Any other bus you'd take, you'd have to make a lot of transfers just to get home. A lot of transfers in a lot of seedy places.  
  
You swallowed thickly, but quickly started talking again, stuffing your phone back into your pocket and smiling nervously up at Dorian. "It won't be a problem at all! So, you guys can go."  
  
He stared at you, and then looked over at Matt, who still sat next to you.  
  
"Her bus is late." He commented passively, then smiled at you in a way that made you more nervous. "Besides that, she's very bad at hiding things."  
  
There was a heavy silence as they both stared you down, Dorian with disapproval and Matt with a cheery curiosity, and you finally broke down.  
  
"I-I just have to walk to another bus stop, and take a few transfers! Really, it's not like I've never done it before!" You frowned, standing up. "I'm practically an adult!"  
  
"Well... we **are**... adults." Dorian rebutted, watching you as you stood. You deflated, realizing he was technically right, if their Wonderland appearances were their normal ones.  
  
"I just feel bad, making you guys do this." You sighed in defeat.  
  
"Don't." Matt stood up from the bench, stretching a little. "I never do anything I don't want to."  
  
The three of you began walking to the next bus stop, you habitually glancing at your phone in the hopes that the post would be corrected, and that it was just a big mistake. You didn't want the boys to feel like they had to babysit you.  
  
"Oh, your phone looks much better." Matt commented, staring down at your phone.  
  
"Huh? Oh, yeah. My Dad got it fixed for me." You sighed, remembering feeling bad about that, too.  
  
"Your Dad...?" Matt questioned, lifting an eyebrow.  
  
"Uh... yeah." You weren't really sure about the nature of his confusion, and so you really didn't know what to say. "He... um, works a lot." _Well, that was pointless to say._  
  
"Hm... I think Henry said something about-" He suddenly stopped talking, and looked back at Dorian, who had ceased walking a little ways back.  
  
You looked between the two, worry beginning to blossom in your stomach. "What is it...?"  
  
Dorian turned to you and gave you a steely look. "Go."  
  
"What?" You froze, gripping your phone.  
  
Matt chuckled, grabbing hold of your shoulders and gently turning you around. "You need to go now. Find somewhere with a lot of people, and hide." With that, he pushed your back softly.  
  
That was all the prompting you needed; You took off running in the direction Matt had pointed you in, and began searching for an open business. The adrenaline that coursed through you was so heavy that even if there had been any noise from guns, any shouting at all, you didn't think you'd hear it.  
  
When you noticed a sign pointing to a new nightclub that was opening soon, you saw your opportunity; There would obviously be people there working on the building at the very least, and you were sure they'd let you hide out there when you explained that someone was after you. You followed the signage, ducking down the alley and bee-lining towards the next sign.  
  
Suddenly, your vision went white as you ran full-force into something solid, and fell backwards onto the gravelly alley road. You propped yourself up slowly, your head spinning a little from the impact.  
  
"Oh my, I'm sorry! Had I known you'd be running so blindly, I would have caught you!" A sweet, woman's voice spoke from somewhere in front of you, and you accepted the white-gloved hand that was extended to you, standing.  
  
"Th-that's okay, I..." You trailed off, looking up at the woman who helped you up.  
  
She had long, dark hair that was pulled into a loose bun at the back of her head, some of the lengthy locks still pouring out of a white hairband that resembled a helmet's comb turned to the side. She was dressed incredibly properly, wearing a white vest with a long tailcoat, embellished with a few black buttons and cords, looking very military. On her legs were white pants with a single horizontal black stripe above both knees, and she wore white high-heeled boots that vanished beneath the pants.  
  
"Let me introduce myself." She placed a gloved hand on her chest, and bowed slightly. "My name is Lyla."  
  
"Uh..." You weren't really sure if it was safe to respond, but the strange woman didn't seem to be trying to attack you, and so you replied on auto-pilot. "I'm F/n."  
  
"Oh, I know that!" She laughed softly, standing straight from her slight bow. "I'm actually here to escort you. You see, the White Queen has granted you an audience with her."  
  
You frowned, the name sounding incredibly familiar. It quickly dawned on you, and you took a step away from Lyla. _The White Queen..._ That was the woman Merch had told you sent those men earlier. You didn't know anything about her, but you knew you sure as heck didn't want to go see her.  
  
Noticing your sudden change in attitude, Lyla advanced, looking more predatory than she had moments ago. "So, just come quietly and there won't be a problem, okay?"  
  
You turned to run, not even giving her a response, but she grabbed your arm forcefully, pulling you back towards her. "Ah ah ah! No running, now!" She wrapped her other arm over you, holding you in a headlock. "Now then, shall we?"  
  
She used her other arm to toss something from her pocket to the ground, and you heard that familiar noise you'd heard when you'd gone to Wonderland; The one that meant you'd be going back again, and **soon**. You struggled against her, kicking your legs back and attempting to knock her off-balance, to no avail.  
  
"LET HER GO."  
  
Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and Lyla dropped you on the ground, jumping away from you. You coughed a little, rubbing your throat, and turned to see Merch standing at the end of the alley, pointing a gun at Lyla and covered in blood, breathing heavily.  
  
She laughed, brushing her bangs out of her face and placing a hand on her hip. "Well, well, well! It's so nice to see you, Rabbit!"  
  
"Shut the hell up." Merch snapped, advancing on her.  
  
"Oh? But if I do that, how can I tell you all about the plans Her Majesty has?" Lyla mocked him, faking a sad expression.  
  
"I really don't care right now." He fired at her again, and this time she jumped backwards so she stood behind you, and grabbed your arm, forcing you to stand.  
  
"Well, that's too bad! After all, they involve this sweet little-"  
  
She cut herself off with a hiss as another bullet was fired at her, lodging itself in her shoulder. She clearly hadn't expected Merch to risk firing at her with you in front of her, and she glared daggers at him. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to clean blood off of white clothes?!?"  
  
"I already told you..." Suddenly, Merch was in front of the both of you, one arm on your free shoulder and the other holding the gun directly to Lyla's face. "I don't care." He pulled the trigger at the same time as he pulled you forward, taking advantage of Lyla moving out of the way to heave you behind him. You stumbled, barely avoiding hitting the gravel hard.  
  
You turned over to watch the action happening behind you; Lyla had pulled out her own weapon, a rapier that she had hidden behind her back, and was using it to expertly fend off Merch's attacks. When he fired, she would dodge the bullets, and kept as close to him as she could to prevent him from getting in a proper shot.  
  
"Ha!! I should have known, no amount of powers can make up for a lack of discipline!" Lyla taunted him, even as her sword clanged off the side of his gun.  
  
"Why the hell won't you shut up already?!?" Merch used his free hand to summon a second gun and, using the first to block her sword, aimed the second at her stomach. However, she caught the action, and instead drew her sword back quickly and plunged it into Merch's shoulder, causing blood to gush from it. However, he didn't falter, and pulled the trigger of his second gun, making Lyla release her sword and dodge out of the way, putting distance between the two of them.  
  
Merch's shoulder was covered in blood, much like Lyla's, and she laughed. "Oh, we're like twins now!"  
  
"Screw you." Merch gritted out, hatred in his eyes. He dropped his gun, causing it to vanish, and ripped the sword from his shoulder, throwing it on the ground.  
  
"Ooh, you've got a bad mouth." Lyla scolded, and motioned her hand as though she was holding the sword. To your shock it lifted off the ground and returned itself to her hand, still covered in Merch's blood.  
  
Merch's grip on his remaining gun tightened, and he lunged forward despite his injured shoulder. Lyla smirked, readying her sword to strike him, and even **you** could see that Merch was too angry now to make a proper decision; Lyla's next hit would be deadly.  
  
"MERCH!!" You stood to try and stop him, and the alley echoed with a loud clanging noise, and then silence.  
  
Matt stood between Merch and Lyla, his bladed weapon raised and met with Lyla's sword, holding it off. Dorian was behind Merch, a hand on his shoulder and pulling him backwards. Both Merch and Lyla's eyes were wide with surprise, but Lyla's quickly narrowed.  
  
"What, you think you'll have better luck stopping me?" She applied more pressure to her sword, causing it slide down the blade of Matt's weapon and dig into the top of his forearm a little.  
  
"Oh my, no." Matt cheerfully replied, still holding position. "But..." You watched as a little blood trickled from Matt's arm, metallic in the dim light of the mostly gone sun. "It'll certainly hurt."  
  
Lyla's eyes traced down to the wound as well, and she jumped back, putting distance between herself and the boys. "Tch. Well, this is no fun." She gestured to them. "Three against one is hardly fair."  
  
Merch dove at her, only to be held back forcefully by Dorian and blocked by Matt. "Merch!! No!" Dorian spoke firmly, holding the struggling Merch.  
  
"Let me go, dammit!!!"  
  
Lyla turned to you, and gave you a sweet smile left you feeling afraid. "I'll be seeing you around, okay? Bye!" With that, she removed what looked to be a multi-colored pellet of some sort from her pocket, and tossed it on the ground. That familiar popping noise echoed through the alley, and she vanished.  
  
Dorian sighed in relief, and Merch shook him off, his fists clenched in rage. "Why didn't you let me go after her?!?" He demanded, rounding on the blonde.  
  
"Because that... would... have been stupid." Dorian retorted calmly.  
  
"Stupid?!? I could have ended this whole damn thing right here and now!!"  
  
"And you also could have gotten yourself killed. Do you want to die so badly?" Matt spoke from behind Merch, and when he turned he saw Matt had his weapon drawn again, pointing it at him with deadly seriousness. "If that's the case, I'll kill you right now and put you out of your misery."  
  
"Wh-what?!? No!!" You rushed forward, finally finding the strength to move your legs, and stood between Merch and Matt. "Don't!! Please, there's no reason to fight over this!!"  
  
Both boys stared at you, and Merch sighed heavily, clearly releasing a lot of tension. He ran a hand through his hair with his good arm, and Matt lowered his weapon, crossing his arms and smiling.  
  
"Aww, look! You've gotten her all upset, Henry!" He walked closer to you, and you could smell blood mixed with something more metallic on him. "At the very least, you should apologize."  
  
Merch scowled, and averted his gaze. You turned to him. "Is your arm gonna be okay?" You reached out and hesitantly lifted the sleeve of his shirt, inspecting the wound. He hissed softly as the fabric peeled off his skin, and you could see the hole in his shoulder where Lyla's sword had embedded itself. "That... looks really bad..." You bit your lip. You didn't really know what to do in this situation, and you just felt so... useless.  
  
He brushed your hand away, and lowered the sleeve again, covering the wound with his hand. "It's fine. I can still move my arm." He averted his attention from you to Dorian instead, who had gone over to where Lyla had vanished. "Do you know how they're doing it, Dory?"  
  
Dorian frowned, kneeling down brushing his hand on the ground. "No... not without... an actual portal..."  
  
"Well..." You piped up. "If it helps, I think it was some kind of... pellet or something."  
  
"A pellet...?" Dorian stood, looking deep in thought.  
  
Merch frowned, muttering something under his breath. "How would they get access to that, though?"  
  
"I can't imagine they went through Clover." Matt added, slinging his weapon over his shoulder casually. "Are you okay?" It took you a second to realize he had directed the latter at you, and you quickly nodded.  
  
"Yeah. Maybe just a couple scratches." You patted yourself down as if to show him you were okay, and he smiled down at you.  
  
"Good. Anyways, we should leave this area." He continued, turning and walking away from you.  
  
Merch sighed. "Yeah. Shit, I hope nobody heard this." He turned to you. "Come on."  
  
"Wait, what?" You stared at him, dumbfounded.  
  
"You're coming with us." He winced as he shifted his shoulder, and you could see blood seeping between his fingers. "We're gonna make sure you get home safe, and then you're gonna move."  
  
"What?!? You can't just decide something like that!" You stood firm, staring Merch down.  
  
"I just did. I'll make a few calls, and you and your Dad will have a whole new life." He spoke like it was something you wanted, and turned away to leave. You grabbed his shoulder, , wrenching him back to face you and causing him to swear from the sharp pain the action caused.  
  
"What the he-"  
  
"I'm not moving. I've lived here all my life, I'm not abandoning everything because some woman wants me to!" You firmly re-iterated. "I don't care if you can make it happen or not."  
  
"Look, I'm just trying to do what's best for you, F/n!" He rebutted, starting to sound frustrated. "We're not gonna drag you into some shit-fest when we don't even know what's going on!!"  
  
"You aren't dragging me into anything, Merch." You stood your ground, affixing him with a sharp look. "I'm making this decision myself." You took a deep breath, and swallowed your fears, putting on a brave front. "If this White Queen is causing some kind of trouble and harassing me is part of it, then it's **my** problem, too."  
  
He stared at you, and you could see his resolve waver. After a moment, he averted his gaze, frowning at nothing. "...Fine."  
  
You didn't know what to say; You hadn't really been expecting a victory. However, before you could celebrate, he continued. "But only if Dorian and Matt agree."  
  
You turned to the other two boys; Matt looked like he was playfully considering it, and Dorian looked pensive. "Guys...?" You meekly called out to them.  
  
"It's going to be very dangerous." Matt supplied, smiling. "You could die."  
  
"...I... I know." You shifted nervously. The thought scared the hell out of you, but if those soldiers kept chasing you, you'd only be putting Laura, Amy, and your Dad in danger.  
  
"You'd... have to keep it... a secret." Dorian added, tilting his head as he looked at you.  
  
"Yeah, I-"  
  
"From **everyone**." He continued, and you swallowed nervously.  
  
"I know that, too."  
  
There was silence between the three of you. You stood nervously, looking between the three before you finally got your responses.  
  
"It's fine with me."  
  
"...Okay."  
  
You let out a sigh of relief, only to feel the nerves bubble up inside of you immediately after. This meant you were officially involved. This meant you were a part of whatever was going on in Wonderland.  
  
This meant no more normal life for you.  
  
"Alright. I need to get back home." Merch stated, sounding tired. He turned and began walking out of the alley, Matt following behind him. You stood there for another moment, before chasing after them.  
  
"Uh... what should I do...?" You asked.  
  
Merch said nothing, clearly thinking, before replying. "Go home. They're gone for now, and I doubt they'll be back anytime soon." You stared at your feet, and as though he realized the dismissive tone of his statement, he quickly added "Get some rest. You went through a lot."  
  
You nodded, and after stepping out of the alley and getting your bearings, you figured out where the closest bus stop was. "Alright. Take care of yourself too, Merch." You frowned at his arm.  
  
"Oh, I'll escort you to the bus-" Matt began, only to be cut off.  
  
"No you won't." Merch spoke firmly. Matt looked over at him, seemingly having a silent argument.  
  
"I'll... walk you there." Dorian spoke up, following after you.  
  
"Oh, thanks Dory." You headed further down the sidewalk towards the bus stop, waving goodbye to Matt and Merch. As worried as you were about their wounds, there wasn't anything you could do about it; Following them wouldn't have helped.  
  
You sat at the bus stop, and Dorian took the seat next to you. Almost as though you'd planned it, the two of you sighed at the exact same time, and you couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"...What a day." You finally said, leaning your head back on the bench.  
  
"Yeah." Dorian nodded in agreement.  
  
"Will they... will they be okay?" You asked, looking off in the direction Matt and Merch had gone.  
  
"...Yeah." He replied, closing his eyes. "They've both had... worse wounds."  
  
You didn't really want to think about that; after all, if being involved in Wonderland affairs meant that you'd get hurt that badly...  
  
"You'll... be safe."  
  
You looked over at Dorian, noticing his eyes were fully open, and he stared up at the dark sky. Even in the twilight, you could see the way his grayscale eyes swirled hypnotically.  
  
"You think so...?" You asked.  
  
"I... have a feeling." He replied.  
  
Somehow, the affirmation from Dorian made you feel a lot better about the whole situation. You leaned your head back again, and just like Dorian, you stared up at the sky.  
  
"I hope so, too." You habitually pulled out your phone, checking for any busing updates. When you glanced back up, you noticed Dorian was staring at your phone, and you gave him a quizzical look. In reply, he reached over and took you phone from you.  
  
"H-hey, what-"  
  
"I'll... give you my... number." He fiddled with your phone for a moment, before handing it back to you. You stared at the new contact, somewhat bewildered, "That way if... you're... in trouble, you can... text me." He continued.  
  
"Thanks, Dory." It was actually a relief; you hadn't even really thought about it, but if you **did** get into any trouble, you wouldn't have had a way to reach them.  
  
Your bus pulled to a stop in front of you, and the both of you stood. You turned to face Dorian, shifting a little awkwardly. "Well... thank you, Dorian."  
  
He shook his head, smiling. "Don't... mention it. Be... safe."  
  
You nodded, giving him a weak smile and a wave before stepping onto the bus.  
  
~  
  
You'd made it home without any further hitches (other than a few strange stares on the bus), and after locking all the doors in the house you bee-lined to the washroom to change out of your dirty clothes; Parts of them had blood on it, and while it thankfully wasn't yours, it still meant that you'd likely have to throw them out. You were actually thankful that today your Dad wasn't home from work. _I'd have a hard time explaining where this blood came from._  
  
As you washed, you couldn't help but think about how your life had changed so drastically; It didn't feel like that long ago you were just going to school and hanging out with friends, and the biggest thing you'd had to worry about was whether or not your Dad was eating enough.  
  
Now, you had worry about getting hurt, or killed. You had to worry about who was following you, who knew what, and even if your friends were safe or not.  
  
You stared through the glass panels of the shower at where your phone sat on the sink, a blurry rectangle through the frosting.  
  
_I should text them more often._  
  
After all, you'd never know when it could be the last time you'd speak to them.


	16. ♦12

You weren't entirely sure why you'd thought it was a good idea. In all honesty, you probably hadn't thought **enough** about it, and that was where you'd gone wrong.  
  
The day had started out normally enough; You woke up, had some breakfast, did a little cleaning around the house... and then " **The Idea** " happened. As you sat on the couch, wondering what else to do, a thought occured to you:  
  
_I wonder where the boys live._  
  
From there, it had all spiralled out of control, and now you found yourself on the bus from school they usually took, with absolutely no idea when to get off.  
  
It had all seemed so fool-proof when you'd first thought of it, and now that you realized all the problems you felt like an idiot. You stared down at your phone as you sat in the bus seat, contemplating the bus stop schedule, when a genius thought occured to you; Text Dorian.  
  
You'd completely forgotten that the sleepy blonde had given you his cell number. You quickly navigated to contacts, and after finding his name sent him a quick message.  
  
**_Me 9:42 AM_**  
_Hey! Um, where do you live?_  
  
You stared out the window, waiting with your hand on your phone for an answer. _Hopefully he answers soon... wait, what if he isn't even awake?!? Crap, did I wake him up?!?_ You quickly lifted your phone again, as though you could un-send the text, and as you did so you felt it vibrate with a reply, and an apartment address.  
  
You stared at the text with joy before realizing that it didn't really help you, since you had no idea **when** to get off to find the place.  
  
**_Me 9:45 AM_**  
_...What bus stop is that?_  
  
You didn't need to wait long for a reply; it sort of felt like he'd been waiting for you to ask.  
  
**_Dorian 9:45 AM_**  
_Third stop. Head up the street to the North, and then to the left._  
  
You panicked, mentally trying to count how many stops the bus had already taken as it pulled to a stop again. Realizing it was the third stop, you stood so suddenly and in such a rush that you startled an elderly lady seated across from you, and gotten a scolding from her as you exited the bus sheepishly.  
  
You were surprised to find that the street the boys lived on was actually rather upper-class; There were a number of shops you recognized from Amy talking about them, and the apartments looked secure and well-cared for. As you walked down the street, past the fashionably-dressed people and expensive shops, you started to feel a little out of place.  
  
Thankfully, you noticed a familiar-looking blonde leaned up against a wall of one of the buildings, and you hurried to approach him.  
  
"Dory!" You called as you got withing earshot. He turned to face you, slowly standing from his slouched position.  
  
"Good morning." He replied, yawning sleepily.  
  
"S-sorry, did I wake you...?"  
  
He shook his head. "No. I'm... just tired."  
  
"Fair enough." You turned, looking up at the apartment building. It was enormous and spacious-looking, and you couldn't help but wonder how they could afford to live somewhere like that. "Geez, you guys live here?"  
  
Dorian walked past you, using a key to unlock the front door, and held it open for you. "Yeah... Merch's... Dad is paying for... it."  
  
"Oh." You followed him into the building, marvelling at how clean and well-maintained it looked. "Hey, what does Merch's Dad do, anyways?" You'd previously been under the impression the boys were part of the mafia, but... _Is there even a mafia in Wonderland?_  
  
The two of you stepped into an elevator, and Dorian hit the button for the fourth floor. He looked as though he was debating what to tell you, and after a moment he spoke. "He's the president... of a company."  
  
You nodded, accepting the answer at face value. After all, if he had spent so long thinking about it, you doubted you could press any more information out of him.  
  
The elevator opened, and you followed Dorian down the hall to the last room, number 405, where he unlocked the door and opened it for you.  
  
When you stepped in to the boys' apartment, you were even more amazed; It was much bigger than you'd thought it would be. You stood in a small entryway, and in front of you was a decently large kitchen, and to the side of it was a circular dining table, where you could see Merch and Matt were seated, along with three teapots and a small array of snacks. Off the dining area, you could see into the living room, where a large TV was playing oldies music. Off that, there was a hallway with five doors, three on one side and two on the other. You took off your shoes and stepped into the kitchen area, where Merch and Matt finally noticed your presence.  
  
"Well! Good morning, F/n!" Matt greeted cheerfully from his spot at the table. Dorian had gone around the other side of the table and sat down at his place, and you took the empty seat between Merch and Matt. You noticed Dorian hadn't really touched anything on the plate in front of him, but when you saw the way he propped his head tiredly against his arm, you had a pretty good feeling why.  
  
"Good morning." You returned Matt's greeting, noting with some curiousity that he had not one, but two tea cups in front of him, each with a different kind of tea. "Sorry to show up so early."  
  
"Have some wine." Merch offered from next to you. You could see he also had a cup of tea, but also an open Energy drink can. You raised an eyebrow at his offer, and glanced around the table; You hadn't thought they'd be the kind to drink wine. Unable to see anything other than tea, you looked back at him.  
  
"I don't see any wine."  
  
"That's because there isn't any." Merch was holding his cup of tea, swirling it around and staring into it boredly.  
  
You frowned at him, folding your arms. "Then why would you offer me some? That's kind of rude."  
  
"Well, it was rude of you to sit down without being invited." He rebutted.  
  
Well, he had a point. You **had** just sort of invited yourself to the table. Matt chuckled, drinking some tea. "Well, consider yourself officially invited."  
  
"Ahaha... thanks." You smiled sheepishly at Matt, who was now giving you a cup of tea. You stared down at the delicate cup in front of you, unsure of picking it up; If it you broke it, you had no idea how much it costed. Instead, you decided to comment on the apartment. "You know, I had no idea you lived somewhere so nice!"  
  
"It's decent." Matt commented non-commitally.  
  
"It's very... nice. Merch... even furnished it." You could have sworn Dorian had fallen asleep at the table, but clearly you were wrong.  
  
"Oh, so you bought all this stuff?" You turned to Merch.  
  
"Yeah." He sighed, looking around the apartment. "I'm not really a big fan of decorating, though."  
  
"You should have just let me do it." Matt supplied, smiling cheerily.  
  
Merch frowned at him. "If I did **that** , the whole apartment would look like your room."  
  
"A mess." Dorian clarified for you.  
  
"It's not a mess if I know where everything is." Matt petulantly replied, and you couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"That's not what makes it a mess, Matt." Merch ran a hand through his hair, leaning back in his seat.  
  
"Says you." Matt returned.  
  
As you listened to the exchange, you suddenly realized that you needed to use the washroom. "Um... hey, can I... use your washroom?"  
  
The conversation ceased, and Matt replied. "I would hope you could. Not that there's anything wrong if you're unable."  
  
You gave him a droll look, and instead looked to Merch for a straight answer. "It's down the hall, last door on the right."  
  
"Thanks." You stood from the table and walked around the side, through the living room and to the hallway, half-listening to the boys' continued conversation.  
  
Partway through the hall, you noticed one of the doors was half-open. When you walked by, you could see it was a bedroom. You paused and fought with your curiousity; Part of you wanted to look in the room, to see what it looked like, and the other part knew it would be rude. Your curiousity eventually won out, and you carefully approached the door, leaning around the corner and peering in.  
  
The first thing you noticed was a large desk covered in stacks of paper, and a familiar orange hoodie draped over the back of the chair in front of it; Clearly, this was Merch's room. In one of the desk cubbies, you could see two boxes of what looked like Energy drinks, one completely full and the other half-empty. There was a small pile of laundry in one corner of the room, and the bed looked incredibly neat and tidy, save for an indent in the middle of it where Merch had likely laid on top of the covers at some point.  
  
Your curiousity satisfied, you turned to head back to the washroom when, to your horror, you bumped into Merch. "O-Oh!! Merch!!" Your face flushed with embarrassment at being caught.  
  
"Did you get lost?" He asked curiously, sounding surprisingly unaffected.  
  
"I... well..." Your first instinct was to nervously agree with him, but instead you fought back the urge, and answered him honestly. "N-no. I... was looking in your room. I'm sorry." You stared down at your feet.  
  
"What?" He sounded so completely unworried that your eyes shot up again to make sure he really wasn't angry. He didn't even look the slightest bit bothered, but when he looked into his half-open door, his eyes suddenly narrowed. You followed his gaze to a conspicuous-looking hat that was sitting on one of his shelves, and he walked into his room, picking it up. "If you forgot, the bathroom's at the end of the hall." He stepped back out and pointed you towards the washroom, and you nodded, still feeling a little embarrassed.  
  
"Th-thanks." As you turned and headed to the washroom, you could hear Merch yell to Matt from the hallway behind you as he headed back to the kitchen.  
  
"Matt! Just because you're too lazy to put your stuff in your own room doesn't mean you can leave it in mine!"  
  
~  
  
After being pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness of the washroom, you returned to the table and sat down between Merch and Matt again, catching the end of their conversation.  
  
"So, why are you here, anyways?" Merch finally asked, looking over at you. He didn't seem at all irritated, so you decided to be up-front about your reasoning.  
  
"Well, I wanted to see where you lived." You admitted, before quickly adding: "But, now I'm wondering if you're okay." You lowered your gaze to his shoulder. He was wearing a mustard-coloured, short-sleeved dress shirt, and so you couldn't see where he'd been stabbed just the other day.  
  
He frowned to himself and looked away from you, over at the TV. "I'm fine."  
  
You sighed to yourself, and looked over at Matt instead. "What about you? You were bleeding last time I saw you."  
  
"I'm alright." Matt rolled up his sleeve and showed you his arm, as if to prove it to you. Though the cut hadn't really seemed that big, his forearm was wrapped in a layer of gauze, and over the layer of gauze was a layer of a thick-looking medical plastic.  
  
"Doesn't that seem like overkill?" You eyed the bandaging curiously, reaching over and gently touching the plastic.  
  
"Merch treated it." Matt supplied, using his free hand to drink more tea.  
  
"Tch." Merch merely made an annoyed sound.  
  
"I mean, I'm sure they could have given you a band-aid or something at the hospital." You added.  
  
"We didn't go to the hospital." Matt replied, sounding like it was a perfectly normal response. Your eyes widened, and shot over to Merch.  
  
"What?!? But your arm!!"  
  
"So?" Merch sighed, leaning back in his chair. "It's fine."  
  
You turned in your seat, facing him fully. "You could get an infection, or worse! You should really go!"  
  
"I said it's fine." He replied, sounding more irritated. "What, am I just supposed to walk in there and say I fell on a sword?"  
  
When he put it that way, he had a point. It would be difficult to explain how he'd gotten such a peculiar-looking wound, but even so, it couldn't be safe to leave it like that. "Still..."  
  
You fell silent, as did the three boys. Finally, you spoke quietly. "Can I... at least see it?" You didn't have any medical experience, but at the very least if it didn't look so bad, it would give you some peace of mind.  
  
He stared at you for a minute, looking like he was going to turn you down, and then sighed in exasperation and began unbuttoning his shirt.  
  
Your face turned red, and you quickly looked away. "W-woah!!! Hey, you don't need to-"  
  
"Calm down. It's not like I'm gonna take it off all the way." He scolded you, and when you looked back you noticed he'd only unbuttoned it partway, and had slid it a little ways down his shoulder so you could see the bandages around the wound. From what you could see, whoever had bandaged him had done a good job of it; They looked secure, and thankfully you didn't see any fresh or dried blood seeped through it. You sighed in relief, relaxing in your seat. "Satisfied?" Merch asked, and you nodded.  
  
With that cue, he slid his shirt up again, and began to button it. "Who fixed you up?"  
  
"A friend." He replied, shifting his arm a little once his shirt was fully on. You took the tone as finality, and instead focused on the table. "Y'know, if you just came here because you were worried about us, couldn't you have waited until tomorrow?"  
  
"Well, I guess I could have." You replied, finally deciding on a snack you wanted to try. You reached over and took a couple, setting them on the plate that had appeared in front of your seat when you returned from the bathroom. "But I also wanted to see your place, remember?"  
  
"I'm pretending you never said that." Merch supplied, poking his own plate of food boredly. "After all, coming here for such a stupid reason would just be embarrassing."  
  
You couldn't really think of a good defense to that, so instead you narrowed your eyes at him, hoping he could feel it.  
  
"We won't... be... here for much... longer, though." Dorian spoke for the first time in a while, and this time you'd been **sure** he'd fallen asleep.  
  
"No? Where are you guys going?" You asked curiously.  
  
"To see-"  
  
"That's not important." Merch interrupted Matt, and the latter gave the former a wolfish smile, which Merch returned with a quick glare.  
  
"Oh... Uh, alright." You dropped the subject, and when Dorian stood up and started collecting dishes, you did the same.  
  
"You don't... have to help."  
  
"Oh, it's okay!" You gave him a cheerful smile, collecting a few empty plates carefully. "I do dishes all the time at home." Before you had a chance to take your little stack to the sink, they were lifted out of your hands by Merch.  
  
"Well, you aren't doing dishes here." He carried them over to the sink, setting them down in it.  
  
"I wasn't really... well, I mean..." You weren't exactly sure what your intention had been, and instead you slowly sunk back into your chair next to Matt, who also remained seated. "You don't get to help, either?"  
  
"No. I'm not allowed." He replied, setting his empty tea cup down. "Apparently I'm 'too dangerous' to do dishes." He sounded as though he was trying to imitate Merch when he said it, and you had to stifle a laugh.  
  
"Then, I should get going. I don't want to get in the way." You stood from the chair, and headed towards the door. "I'll see you guys at school tomorrow, right?"  
  
"Yep." Merch replied from by the sink.  
  
"Oh, hold on!" Matt stood from his chair and approached you so quickly that it startled you a little.  
  
"Y-yeah?" You responded.  
  
"Dory told us that you've got his phone number..." Matt trailed off, eyeing you curiously.  
  
"Yeah..." You replied, starting to feel a little worried.  
  
"Well, that's not fair at all! Here, let me fix that for you." You hadn't even noticed it, but Matt had somehow gotten a hold of your phone. You instinctively patted the pocket you'd placed it in, and then watched, mouth slightly agape, as he typed into your phone.  
  
"How did you..."  
  
"There, much better." He handed the phone back to you with a smile, and you accepted it, clutching it in your hand as if to prevent it from being so easily stolen again.  
  
"Uh... thanks. W-well, see you tomorrow!" You shook off your confusion, and waved to the three boys before stepping out of the apartment, closing the door behind you.  
  
As you turned to leave, you caught a particular conversation.  
  
"You gave her your number?"  
  
"Yes. I thought she could use them."  
  
"...Them?"  
  
"Yes, I gave her **your** number, too."  
  
"Dammit, Matt!"  
  
You scrolled through your contacts as you walked down the hallway, indeed finding Merch's number under the name "Henry". After staring at it a moment, you quickly edited it, changing the name to "Merch" instead.  
  
You leaned against the elevator wall as it brought you downstairs, feeling a little surreal; You hadn't really been sure what you'd expected to happen when you found where the boys lived, but you certainly hadn't expected to have a nice meal with them.  
As you stepped out of the apartment into the busy, sunlit street, you felt... happier than you'd felt in a while. You wouldn't have to rely solely on Amy and Laura anymore, and that made you feel better about yourself. After all, you couldn't just expect them to spend all their time with you.  
  
Despite the negative connotations of staying in touch with the boys, it almost felt worth it just to have some new friends, to have other people to talk to.  
  
You exhaled, releasing any negative emotions you felt, and headed off to the nearest bus stop to get back home.


	17. ♦13

It was a beautiful day today, and after school you'd made a point to seek out the boys. Although you'd decided to get involved in the Wonderland affairs that seemed to plague you, you hadn't actually been back to Wonderland since that brief time after the School Fair; You felt like if you were going to be of any use to the boys, you should probably get to know a little more about where they came from.  
  
Finding them wouldn't be too difficult, especially now that you knew where Merch's locker was; you noticed Matt and Dorian tended to wait for him there after school. Sure enough, you could see the two boys down the hall, Matt flipping through a book and Dory leaning against the nearby lockers while Merch stuffed his bag into his own.  
  
"Hey, F/n!!" You heard Amy call you from an adjacent hallway, and paused, turning to face her.  
  
"Hey Amy. What's up?"  
  
She jogged up to you, all smiles. "Not much! Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to come grab an ice cream with me!"  
  
"Oh, um..." You hesitated, looking down the hallway at the three boys; Merch had finished putting his things away, and was closing his locker.  
  
Amy followed your gaze, her smile softening a little. "You had other plans?" She brushed her hair behind her ear and grinned cheerfully again. "That's okay! You can just owe me an ice cream!"  
  
"Amy..." You smiled at her, completely thankful that she seemed to understand. _Even if she thinks that it's because I'm old friends with them..._ "Right, it'll be on me next time."  
  
She giggled, and gave you a wave, turning and heading back down the hallway to the exit. "See ya, F/n!"  
  
"Bye, Amy!" You waved back, then turned towards the hallway the boys were, jogging lightly to catch up to them. "Ah, hey!! Wait up!"  
  
They paused, turning to face you.  
  
"What is it?" Merch asked, eyeing you curiously.  
  
"Oh, she probably missed us." Matt commented matter-of-factly.  
  
"Wh-what? Don't put words in my mouth." You returned, giving Matt a look before addressing Merch's question. "Actually, I um... kind of had a favour I wanted to ask."  
  
Merch's brows furrowed, and Matt's raised. Dorian, on the other hand, seemed to be reserving a reaction until you finished making your request.  
  
"Can I... Could we go to Wonderland again?"  
  
You were met with silence; Since you'd been expecting an immediate refusal, the lack of reply gave you a strange sense of hope. Merch was frowning, but in a way that you'd learned meant he was thinking, rather than upset.  
  
"...Merch?" Dorian turned to Merch, giving him a knowing look.  
  
"It's not like we weren't going, regardless." Matt stated, giving you a smile.  
  
"I know that, but..." Merch folded his arms, clearly divided in opinion.  
  
"Please?" You asked, giving him your best pleading look. Under the pressure of you, Matt, and Dorian staring at him, he finally broke, sighing heavily.  
  
"Ugh, fine, fine. It'll be safe enough, I guess." He conceded, lowering his arms. Before you could celebrate the victory, he quickly cut you off. "But you have to stay with one of us the whole time, got it? No running off on your own."  
  
You nodded with as much seriousness as you could muster, but when he turned away you did a celebratory fist-pump, making Matt laugh. You tagged along with three, exiting the School into the sunshine. "So, when are we going?"  
  
"In an hour." Merch casually stated.  
  
"Oka- Wait, what?!?" You froze in shock momentarily, and had to jog a little to keep up with the boys. "So soon?!? I mean, what do I tell my Dad, my friends? This is kinda short notice! I mean, I'll have to come up with some excuse for being gone so long, and-"  
  
"Time works... differently in Wonderland." Dorian supplied from next to you.  
  
"H-huh?"  
  
"Remember the first time we went? We were there for about two hours." Merch began explaining to you, though he still walked ahead of you. "But in this reality's time, three hours had passed."  
  
You frowned to yourself. "Yeah, I remember. But... if time passes by faster here than it does there, it doesn't help me any."  
  
"It's just an example." Merch turned to face you, and you all paused walking. "Where we **were** , time passes quicker here. Where we're **going** , time passes at the same rate."  
  
"What? How does that even work?" It made no sense; If it was all the same place, why would time pass differently in different places?  
  
"Plenty of things make no sense." Matt commented. "Sometimes it's best not to understand why."  
  
"Just trust me, okay?" Merch sighed to himself, running a hand through his brown-orange hair. "There are some things about Wonderland that are a little difficult to explain."  
  
You looked over to Dorian for his input, but noticed he was staring off to his left at the ground, looking strangely pensive about something. Before you could ask him about it, Merch interrupted you.  
  
"Remember the park where we met that second time?"  
  
"Yeah." You nodded. That night had seemed so long ago; If you'd been told you'd be friends with those boys then, you would have laughed about it.  
  
"Meet us there in an hour." He was about to turn and leave when you stopped him.  
  
"Wait, should I bring anything?"  
  
He shook his head. "I doubt you'll need anything. I guess if you've got medicine you need to take or something, bring that."  
  
You weren't entirely sure if it was a veiled insult or not, but after judging the expression on his face you deemed it a legitimate remark. "Okay. I guess I'll see you then."  
  
The four of you parted, and you headed for your bus, boarding it.  
  
~  
  
_"An hour isn't really that much time."_ Was all you could think as you dashed off the bus as fast as you could, and began running the last couple of blocks to the park.  
  
You'd started off pretty well; You got home, changed your clothes, had a quick meal, and grabbed a few things you thought you might need for the trip. Then, you left your Dad a note explaining that you were with Laura and Amy, just in case you were later than the boys had inferred you'd be; As soon as you'd written your friends' names, you remembered you should probably text them, too, especially since your phone didn't seem to work in Wonderland. After sending them each a text explaining that you'd be doing the homework you'd put off tonight and probably wouldn't be texting them, you finally decided you were prepared, and headed out the door.  
  
You got halfway down the walkway before you realized you hadn't made anything for dinner for your Dad. In fact, your "quick meal" had been the only leftovers he could have eaten. Cursing yourself, you rushed back into the house, and spent at least a half hour fixing him up something quick he could eat. By the time you'd caught the bus to the park, you only had five minutes to make it.  
  
You could see the park now, and the three boys were there waiting, just as they said they would. You rounded the corner of the sidewalk, and called out to them. "Hey!! I'm sorry I'm la-" You cut yourself off as your foot connected with some of the pea gravel that had spilled onto the pavement, and you fell face-first onto the sidewalk.  
  
You laid there for a minute, feeling like a complete idiot. Not only were you late, but now you were embarrassed at your lack of co-ordination.  
  
"Oh!" Dorian uttered in exclamation, sounding worried.  
  
"My, that's quite an entrance!" You could hear Matt laughing a short distance away from you, and when you sat up you noticed he'd gotten closer, holding out a hand to help you up. You accepted it, and after fully standing brushed the gravel and dirt off yourself.  
  
"Y-yeah, I aim to please." You laughed sheepishly.  
  
"..." Merch said nothing as you and Matt approached, then sighed as he grabbed your shoulder and turned you around, grabbing the back of your clothing and tugging it down; It must have ridden up a little when you'd fallen, and in the wake of the pain you hadn't realized it. "Late **and** injured. What am I supposed to do with you?" He muttered.  
  
Your face turned a little pink, and you laughed softly. "Um, sorry?"  
  
"Here." Dorian spoke from behind you, and when you turned he handed you your house keys. "...You dropped them."  
  
"Shoot! Thanks, Dory!" You accepted them gratefully, re-securing them in a pocket. "Okay! I'm definitely ready, now!"  
  
"Alright." Merch surveyed the area quickly, and when he was sure there was nobody else around, he turned back to Dorian. "We're good."  
  
Dorian nodded, and like last time, turned specifically to you, making eye contact. Just like last time, you watched with fascination at the way the shades of gray swirled in his eyes, the slow and deliberate patterns hypnotising. When he turned away, you were surprised to see that you were no longer in the park; Instead, you were in the outskirts of a completely different city.  
  
Surprisingly, it wasn't too different from a lot of the cities you'd seen in your world. You could see in the distance, towards the center of the city, there were a lot of massive skyscrapers and buildings. There was a lot of well-kept greenery, and various shops and homes lining the streets, as well as completely normal people walking around. Really, the only thing that looked a little strange was the fact that almost every building had a red "Diamonds" suit emblazoned on it somewhere, and the fact that nobody batted an eyelash at the way the three of you simply appeared out of nowhere. The sun shone brightly, unlike the evening sun that had been setting when you'd left home.  
  
"Are we... here?" You asked unsurely, looking around; This place looked nothing like the place you'd been to the first time. There were no magical-looking plants, and nothing was strangely massive.  
  
"Yep." Dorian responded, following your gaze around the area. You were caught a little off-guard when you looked at him and noticed he was older-looking; You'd forgotten that their appearances changed when they came to Wonderland. "I guess... Merch should introduce you... to this place." He turned to Merch smiling a little. The latter sighed a bit.  
  
"Fine, fine." He straightened himself up, and gestured to the city with one hand. "Welcome to the City of Diamonds. Good enough?"  
  
"City of Diamonds?" You turned to Merch. "But then, where were we before?" He began walking, and you followed after him, noting with some curiousity that a lot of people were bidding him 'Good-morning' as you all walked past them.  
  
"That was the County of Clover." Matt supplied from next a little behind you, looking a bit distractedly at some of the shops on the street you walked down. "This is the County of Diamonds."  
  
"So... Wonderland has different Counties?" You were so distracted by the sights that you almost bumped into Merch's back when he stopped at a train terminal, and turned to face you.  
  
"I'll be right back." He casually stated before opening the door to the little terminal and vanishing inside.  
  
"Yes. There's... Diamonds, Clover, Spades... and Hearts." Dorian answered you, taking a seat on one of the benches that lined the station.  
  
Your eyes traced the tracks, and you realized it was likely a station for a Light Rail Train of some sort. "Just like the card suits." You stated.  
  
"It's sort of funny, isn't it?" Matt responded, folding his arms. "That both of our worlds came up with the same ideas, only applying them differently?"  
  
"When you put it that way..." You heard the door to the terminal open again, and Merch sat on the bench next to Dorian. "So...?"  
  
He looked up at you, lifting a brow. "So, what?"  
  
"Well, what did you do in there?" You turned to fully face him.  
  
"Nothing." He answered curtly, and you took it as the end of the conversation, frowning and sighing to yourself.  
  
"Where are we headed?" You asked Matt instead.  
  
"To Diamonds Mansion, I'd imagine." He replied, giving Merch a sideways glance. While the look was questionable, you decided not to ask about it, instead more curious about your destination.  
  
"Really? A mansion?" As you asked, you noticed a train pulling into the station; Your initial assumption of it being Light Rail was correct. The four of you boarded, the ticket manager bidding the four of you 'Good morning' before moving on the the next section of the train.  
  
"Yes. I believe we have business there with the Royal family." Matt continued, taking a seat on one of the plush red leather train seats. You followed suit, sitting in the adjacent seat so you could look out the window.  
  
As you stared out the window, Matt's words finally sunk in. "Wait, the Royal family?!?" You looked down at your clothing, realizing that you were severely under-dressed to be meeting Royalty.  
  
"Relax." Merch took a seat next to Matt as the train lurched to life, and began heading to its destination. "It's Royalty in title, only. Diamonds doesn't abide by the old rules."  
  
You relaxed at hearing this, but it still meant that whoever you were going to meet would have a very high position in Wonderland. "What should I do? Is there anything I shouldn't say?"  
  
"Just be... yourself." Dorian spoke up from his seat, having opted to take the spot next to yours.  
  
"Be myself..." You watched in fascination at the modern-looking buildings you passed by; Because you'd only gone to Clover, you'd assumed that all of Wonderland was under-developed, and clearly you were mistaken. Seeing all the familiar, yet new scenery was both comforting and exciting at the same time. "Geez..." You muttered to yourself.  
  
"It's not... too different." Dorian commented. You glanced over at him and smiled, nodding.  
  
"Yeah. It's kind of weird."  
  
"It was kind of weird to see that your world looked so similar, too." Merch spoke from where he'd sat next to Matt, sounding amused. You hadn't thought of it that way, and found yourself wondering if their Cities were modelled after yours, or yours after theirs.  
  
"Am I the first person to come here?" You questioned, looking out the window again.  
  
"Oh my, no! There are plenty of people here." Matt replied quickly, sounding very serious.  
  
"R-Really?!? From my world?!? But, why don't we know about it, then?" You sat forward on your seat, floored to be hearing that you weren't the first.  
  
Merch rolled his eyes, lightly hitting Matt with the back of his hand. "She meant from her world, not in general."  
  
Your shoulders sagged, and you gave Matt a dry look. _I really need to start wording my sentences more carefully when I talk to Matt._  
  
Merch turned to you, giving you a proper answer. "You might be. I've never really looked into it before." As he finished his sentence, the train slowly came to a stop, the PA system announcing the title 'Spinel Square', and the three boys stood. You stood as well, and followed suit as they exited the train.  
  
You stared in wonder at the scene in front of you; There was a long street, either side of it lined with shops and homes, and all up and down the street you noticed various men and women in suits, each emblazoned with the same symbol that Merch had tattooed on his shoulder. At the end of the street, you could clearly see a massive mansion grounds, a large black and red gate with the metal bent into diamond shapes separating it from the rest of the buildings on the street.  
  
As you walked down the street, you noticed even more people greeting the four of you, and started to feel a little uncomfortable at the attention. _It makes sense, though. I mean, I always figured Merch must be pretty high up in whatever Mafia he's in.._  
  
As you approached the gates, the two women guarding it stepped aside immediately, and greeted Merch.  
  
"Hello, sir." One of the women spoke, giving Merch a smile. "It's nice to see you, again."  
  
He nodded to her, his face betraying no emotion, before turning to you, Matt and Dorian. "You guys go on ahead. I'll be right there."  
  
You'd been about to object to going in to such a high-security place without him, but Matt gently grabbed your arm and began dragging you away. "Come along, F/n. You don't want to look silly, standing here all alone!"  
  
You looked back at Merch as Matt pulled you away, and gave Dorian a worried look. The blonde simply followed after you and Matt, giving you a soft smile that reassured you, and you re-oriented yourself, following Matt properly.  
  
He threw open the doors to the Mansion so casually that you were sure the three of you were going to be shot on sight, but to your surprise there weren't even any guards posted inside the Mansion; Instead, an older girl stood in the foyer, bent over and helping a child with brown-orange hair and bright blue eyes put her shoes on correctly.  
  
The girl paused her actions when Matt threw the door open, arching a brow delicately at him, before finishing with the child's shoe and standing fully. Her brown-orange hair fell to her waist, and her faded gold eyes seemed unamused as she stared at Matt. "You could have called properly, you know."  
  
Matt only laughed in response, taking his hat off and bowing playfully. "My apologies, Your Majesty." Your eyes widened in surprise; You hadn't realized this girl was the Royalty you'd spoken about.  
  
The girl rolled her eyes, and approached the three of you, the small child clutching the hem of her dress as she shyly followed her. She paused, looking at you. "We've never met, have we?"  
  
"No, we haven't." You smiled nervously. "I'm F/n L/n. It's nice to meet you, um... Your Majesty?"  
  
Matt burst out laughing as soon as the words left your mouth, and the girl sighed heavily. The child at her heels began giggling too, and Dorian gently poked your elbow to get your attention.  
  
"You don't... need to call her... that." He supplied, and your face turned red and you glared at Matt, who was poorly stifling his laughter.  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you." The girl continued, despite the laughter around her. "My name is Harriett Merch."  
  
_Harriett... Merch._ "Merch has a sister...?" You muttered to yourself in wonder. It made sense, you guessed; He obviously had parents, and sometimes parents had more than one child. Besides that, you could see the resemblance between the two, and they didn't look too far apart in age.  
  
The little girl at Harriett's side suddenly gave out a loud gasp and darted out from behind her sister's dress, rushing past you and Dorian and outside. "Henry!!!"  
  
You turned just in time to see the little girl attack Henry with a hug, jumping into his arms where he caught her with a laugh and a wince. "Woah, careful, Katy!"  
  
She giggled happily as he carried her into the house, and after shifting her into one arm closed the door behind him. When he turned, he gave Harriett a warm smile, which she returned with equal enthusiasm. "It's good to see you again, Henry."  
  
"Yeah, it's good to be back." He nodded to her, hoisting Katy up a little higher so as not to drop her. He turned to you, and spoke. "Well, Matt and Dory have already met my family, so-"  
  
"Oh my god, Henry!!"  
  
Another female voice coming from the second-level balcony cut Merch off, and when you looked up it belonged to a girl who looked a little younger than you with blonde hair and hazel eyes, who was leaning over the bannister. "You should have told us you were coming!" She spun around and shouted behind her to people unseen, before running down the stairs.  
  
Shortly after her, a younger girl with blonde hair and blue eyes followed, and then a girl who looked around your age with dark brown hair and gold eyes slid down the stairs bannister, landing with a flourish next to the other two girls.  
  
"Where have you been all this time?" The dark brown-haired girl demanded from Merch, approaching him.  
  
"Out." He answered her simply, making her frown, and then he continued his previous sentence. "F/n, this is my family. You guys, introduce yourselves."  
  
"Oh! I'm Claire Merch!" The cheery blonde you'd first seen gave you a friendly wave.  
  
"Vivian Merch." The second blonde smiled shyly at you from where she stood a little ways behind Claire.  
  
"I'm Sophie." The dark brown haired girl introduced herself confidently, folding her arms.  
  
"I'm Katy!!" The little girl in Merch's arms called out from next to you, and you laughed a little at her enthusiasm.  
  
"Well, it's nice to meet you all." You weren't really sure if you were supposed to bow or anything, considering that these girls were all royalty, so instead you awkwardly waved at the group.  
  
"So, how long are you here for?" Sophie asked Merch curiously, taking Katy from his arms for him.  
  
"Not very." He sounded sort of sad, and his sisters all seemed to wilt a little.  
  
"Well, regardless, we'll enjoy the time we have, then." Harriett spoke up, giving the group of girls a sunny look. They all seemed to perk up, and all began talking at once to Merch as he walked further into the house.  
  
Matt chuckled, spinning his hat on one of his hands. "It must be fun, having so many conversations at once."  
  
Dorian nodded, seeming more relaxed than usual. "It's nice to... be back... though."  
  
It **did** seem like a very nice house, even if it was a little busy-looking. "Geez, he's got five sisters? I couldn't even imagine having another sibling, let alone five." You commented, watching Merch chat with his family. He looked so happy, it kind of threw you for a loop.  
  
"Well, you know the rules of Royalty, after all." Matt commented. "They generally have a lot of children."  
  
"That doesn't sound quite right..." You laughed sheepishly at the remark. "I mean, they normally stop once they have a boy, righ...t?" Your brain slowly came to halt as you finished your sentence, and you stared at Merch, your eyes widening.  
  
Royalty. If Merch's sisters were Royalty, then that meant...  
  
"You... You're a Prince?!?" You exclaimed loudly, pointing at Merch's back. All conversations had ceased, and Merch turned and looked at you like you'd suddenly gone crazy.  
  
"You didn't know that?" Sophie asked, looking between you and Merch.  
  
"Oh my god!!" Claire exclaimed, and smacked Merch on the arm. He complained lightly, rubbing the light red mark it left. "Henry!! I told you, the ladies love a Prince!! You're supposed to tell them these things!"  
  
"She's not even from around here, Claire." He pointed out. "It doesn't matter."  
  
"Woah woah, wait, what?!?" Sophie perked up, suddenly coming across the room and right up to you. "She's not from Wonderland?!?" She began circling you, as if sizing you up, and you felt nervous.  
  
"Um, nope?" You supplied meekly, and she seemed to become even more excited.  
  
"That's so cool!!" She exclaimed.  
  
"Where are you from?" Claire approached as well, seemingly done scolding her older brother.  
  
"Do you have cats there?" Katy piped up from Sophie's arms, seeming completely interested in you, too. Even the shy-seeming Vivian had come over, and was listening intently for your answers.  
  
You were a little overwhelmed for a moment, but quickly got your bearings back. "Well, I'm from... uh, the 'other world' I guess. And yes, we do have cats."  
  
Katy cheered happily at the revelation, and Claire 'ooh'ed at the response, a look of wonder coming over her face.  
  
"Hey, since you're new here, you should let us show you around!" Sophie spoke, sounding as though she'd made up her mind. The other two girls agreed with her, and you felt a little corralled into going with them. You looked over at the boys; Dorian and Matt had migrated over to the same side of the room as Henry and Harriett, and all four of them watched you and the girls.  
  
"You should go, F/n. It'll be a good experience." Matt cheerily supplied.  
  
Merch was frowning, clearly remembering his own condition he'd placed. "I don't know if it's a good-"  
  
"I'll go, as well." Harriett crossed the room to you, and turned to face Merch. "They'll be safe, Henry."  
  
The two seemed to have a silent conversation, before Merch relented, running a hand through his hair. "...Alright. But only for an hour, okay? After that, I want you all back home. Understood?"  
  
A chorus of agreement was his answer, and before you knew it you'd been rushed out of the house by the group of girls.


End file.
